The sun is shining over large parts of southern Norway, and it doesn’t seem to be letting up. For the first time in 15 years, Drammen has introduced garden watering restrictions. The same has happened in several other municipalities in southern Norway. The reason is that it is extremely dry and many people use a lot of water at the same time. – For those who like to enjoy themselves on the beach, it will be a great summer, but for us it will be hectic, says Ove Stokkeland, head of staff for Grenland fire and rescue. – It’s starting to look like a 2018 summer, he says. At that time there were over 2,000 forest fires in Norway. Ove Stokkeland has worked for 22 years in the fire service, and says he has seen climate change with his own eyes. Photo: Mari Reisjå / news Read also:: Training on putting out fires without water Nordre Follo: “Press the little button on the toilet” On Tuesday, Nordre Follo asked its 60,000 residents to “turn off the tap while you brush your teeth” and ” use the little button on the toilet when you flush”. Small measures with a serious background: “There is a great danger of fire at the moment, and it is important that the fire service has access to enough water”. – We tend to see a big effect on the water reservoirs when we come up with such advice, says Tom Skei, who is the business manager for water and sewage in the municipality. He emphasizes that it is not a water shortage that is the challenge this year, but that there will be problems with water quality and pressure when many people use a lot of water at the same time. Here is the list of measures Nordre-Follo municipality is asking its residents for. Facsimile: The Facebook page of Nordre Follo municipality Operations leader Roy Kristensen in the fire service hopes they will see the effect of the advice. – We have already noticed that the pressure is worse and it takes longer to fill our tankers with water, says Kristensen to news. He says this is particularly important in the case of fires in houses and densely built-up areas. When there is a forest fire, they often use water from ponds and streams. Operations leader Roy Kristensen says they have daily fires due to disposable grills. Photo: IVAR RUUD EIDE / AKERSHUS AMTSTIDENDE – But even when the fire is far off the beaten track, we go and fill our tanks with the usual water. So it is important that people follow this advice and contribute to ensuring that there is enough water, he says. He hopes for a total ban on open fires and the use of disposable grills. – At the latest yesterday, we had a fire outbreak because someone buried a smoke in the ground. It is incredibly dry now, says Kristensen. During a fire drill in Skien, the sweepers dammed up a stream to get water. Photo: Mari Reisjå / news Climate adaptation will be the new everyday Climate researcher Bjørn Samset in Cicero says we cannot state that the dry climate this spring is due to climate change. – But we actually know, we just don’t have enough statistics to establish it yet, he says. – It’s a bit like if you drop an apple, you know it will fall. But you can’t use it as evidence until the apple hits the ground. He says that what scientists know for sure is that Norway is getting warmer in line with the rest of the world and that the dry periods are becoming more violent and extreme than before. You just have to get used to these restrictions as soon as possible, says Bjørn Samset in Cicero. Photo: Robert Rønning / Robert Rønning / news The climate scientist says that Norwegians must get used to restrictions and that adaptations are the new everyday life. – Norway is a wet country, but in the dry periods we have to adapt. – In many places in the world, this is already a completely obvious thing. In large parts of the world, you don’t have the water on during an entire shower. In Germany, it is unthinkable to leave a room without turning off the light.
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Water restrictions introduced in several municipalities in southern Norway – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
