Water shortage in large parts of the country

It is mainly the southern parts of the country that have the lowest groundwater levels. What mainly affects the groundwater is the rainfall during the winter season.

- For the smaller magazines, there is a rainfall deficit of one to three months back and for the larger magazines it is one to two years back that there has been too little rain, says Johan Carlström, hydrogeologist at SGU.

Individual wells mainly get their water from the small reservoirs that are found in rock and soil moraine. Municipalities take their water from large reservoirs found in pebbles. But sometimes you also take from surface water such as lakes and streams.

Right now, at least 26 municipalities in the country have introduced irrigation bans. What a water ban means may vary somewhat in different municipalities, but usually it means that it is forbidden to water larger areas such as lawns and cultivations with water spreader or water hose. You should also not fill pools or ponds with drinking water.

The low groundwater levels are only part of the explanation for municipalities' restrictions on the use of drinking water. The increased water use during the summer also puts the waterworks under increased pressure.

- The water shortage may also be due to the technical capacity of the waterworks in some municipalities. They see that they cannot produce at the rate that the water is consumed, says Johan Carlström of the Swedish Geological Survey Authority.