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Saarbrücken (dpa / lrs) - In Saarland, citizens are to receive money for the reduction of built-up areas in the future.
The state promises financial support if the people prevent the canals from being polluted by rainwater through private dismantling measures - for example by converting parking spaces.
According to Environment Minister Reinhold Jost (SPD), the state will provide nine million euros for this between 2021 and 2023.
"We are hoping for a new boost in the unsealing of our urban areas," said Jost on Tuesday in Saarbrücken.
"The point and purpose is not to even let the water that does not need to be drained into the sewer system."
To this end, a guideline of the “Aktion Wasserzeichen” funding program has been revised accordingly. So far, cities and municipalities have received financial support in their efforts to separate foreign water from wastewater in need of treatment. In the future, private engagement will also be subsidized, according to Jost with a funding rate of at least 50 percent. The municipalities can pass the funds on to the citizens accordingly - for example for infiltration systems and water-permeable surface coverings. The minister also promised support for the dismantling of gravel gardens.
With the so-called foreign water unbundling, he wants to solve several problems at the same time: On the one hand, municipal sewage treatment plants should be relieved and their effectiveness increased, on the other hand, the natural water balance and the ecological situation in the cities should be improved.
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© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210504-99-465317 / 2
Ministry for Environment and Consumer Protection Saar
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