vIWASA 2023

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53. vIWASA - Drought, dryness and low water

In recent years, we have noticed an increasing trend towards very hot and dry summers. In particular, 2018, 2019 and 2022 have set new low water records at many water bodies. This trend has been noticeable for many years and poses new challenges for water management. In the past, the focus has been mostly on coping with flood events. However, droughts and low water events present a similar challenge that has not yet been considered with the same intensity in water management.

Droughts and low water events have many implications for water management. Many areas of our environment, economy, and society depend on sufficient and permanent quantity and quality of water. Thus, it is not only necessary to ensure the drinking water supply for the population, but also to secure the navigability of rivers, to enable the minimum water flow of our rivers, to provide agriculture with sufficient irrigation water and to provide industry with necessary process and industrial water. Thus, the consistent, reliable, and safe distribution of available water is a year-round, priority water management task.

Climate scenarios currently indicate that the situation in Germany will continue to worsen in the coming decades. Climate models show a trend towards moister winters and drier summers for Germany. This requires early development of climate adaptation measures in Germany to compensate for the increasing imbalance between winter and summer.

The IWASA 2023 addresses this issue; presentations will show the impact of droughts and low water events on water management in Germany, climate adaptation measures will be discussed.

The International Symposium on Hydraulic Engineering Aachen

Over the decades, the IWASA, organized by the IWW, has established itself as a meeting and information point that is always popular among experts. It is primarily aimed at engineers and natural scientists from the fields of hydraulic engineering and water management, but is generally open to all interested persons. The relevance and actuality of the chosen topic lead us to expect about 500 participants from Germany and abroad.

As in the last two years, IWASA 2023 will be held in digital format.