- The city of Nitra is considering declaring a state of emergency due to the lack of drinking water.
- Long-term drought and heat caused a decrease in water resources and an increase in consumption.
- The priority is to maintain water supply to hospitals, social facilities, schools and kindergartens.
- Regulatory measures have affected several municipalities, extreme consumption is mainly caused by irrigation and swimming pools.
The city of Nitra is about to declare a state of emergency. The reason is the critical situation in the drinking water supply. The crisis team met on Tuesday afternoon, Mayor Marek Hattas informed. In addition to the city management, representatives of the relevant departments of the Nitra Municipal Office, the West Slovak Water Company (ZsVS), the Regional Office of Public Health, the Nitra City Police and the Administration of Social Services Facilities took part in the meeting of the crisis staff.
Long-term drought, extremely high temperatures and above-average consumption of drinking water have caused the water company to face a crisis situation. The yield of water resources is decreasing, while water withdrawals are increasing significantly. The result is a situation where more water flows out of reservoirs than flows into them.
ZsVS Nitra is the end point of the long-distance water system, therefore ensuring a sufficient inflow of drinking water is extremely difficult, stated Margita Kršáková, director of the spin-off plant. “Due to unfavorable climatic conditions, high temperatures and a drop in the groundwater level, we had to proceed with the regulation of water sources. Our goal is to ensure that drinking water reaches Nitra. That is why we are limiting the water supply in other parts of the system.” she said.
In Nitra, there are facilities whose supply of drinking water is essential – Faculty Hospital Nitra, Specialized Hospital St. Svorada na Zobor, social service facilities, schools and kindergartens. “The highest priority at the moment is to ensure enough drinking water for these facilities. In this situation, the health and lives of the residents may be at risk,” said Kršáková.
In addition to medical facilities, 14 kindergartens and two city crèches, homes for the elderly and other facilities that must have a reliable supply of drinking water will be open in the city during the summer holidays. “If the consumption of drinking water does not decrease significantly, the city of Nitra is ready to declare a state of emergency,” Hattas confirmed. The mayor calls on the city’s residents to use drinking water only for essential needs.
The situation has already required regulatory measures in several cities and municipalities. Water supply restrictions affected Šala, Galanta, Jelka, Veľký Úľany, Trstíce, Močenek, Cabaja-Čápora and Mojmíroviec. The evening peak after 20:00 is especially critical, when water consumption reaches its highest values. The critical situation in the city and surrounding villages is created by extreme water consumption associated with watering lawns or filling and draining pools in combination with a reduction in the capacity of water resources.
