The water level in the major rivers is falling again this week, after there have been two small discharge peaks. The Rhine at Lobith drains almost 883 cubic meters of water per second on Monday. Rijkswaterstaat expects the discharge this week to drop to around 800 cubic meters per second or even below that, depending on the rain that may fall. Such low drains have almost never occurred. Therefore, many restrictions continue to apply to commercial shipping.
Due to heavy showers in Switzerland and Germany, in the Rhine Basin, the water discharge at Lobith rose to over 1000 cubic meters per second last week. Rijkswaterstaat has made use of these drainage peaks by holding extra water between the Driel and Amerongen dams to alleviate the acute water shortage at water boards. Because a little more water came in via the Rhine, one-way traffic for shipping on the IJssel could also be prevented. It is not yet clear whether this will continue this week.
The Maas is also very low due to the persistent drought and the great evaporation due to the heat. It has recently rained heavily in the Ardennes, which has benefited the rain river. The water level in the Meuse is rapidly rising and falling due to dam management in the also Cork-Dry Belgium, Rijkswaterstaat warns. But because the water level in the Meuse is regulated by weirs, there is enough water left for shipping. Professional shipping must take into account long waiting times at Locks, as they open as little as possible so as not to waste water.
