You can download the PDF Version here

Physical characteristics

Figure 1. Maps of the Rhine basin: a) sub-basins and major cities, b) elevation, and c) land use.

Water use

There are significant differences in the spatial variation in the functions of the Rhine catchment area (see Table 1 for the states along the main flow of the Rhine). The Rhine is Europe’s most densely navigated shipping route, connecting the world’s largest seaport, Rotterdam, with the world largest inland port, Duisburg. Vast industrial complexes are built along the river, for example the Ruhr, Main, and Rijnmond areas. Most of Europe’s important chemical production plants can be found along the Rhine.

Rhine water is used for industrial and agricultural purposes, for energy generation, for the disposal of municipal wastewater, for recreational activities, and for the production of drinking water for more than 20 million people. Furthermore, the Rhine is a natural habitat for a diversity of plant life and many birds, fish, and other species.

Obviously, so many different claims on the river inevitably lead to conflicts or problems: water quality problems, problems in river ecology, and high water problems.

Table 1. Spatial variations in the functions of the Rhine catchment area . After Dieperink, 1997.

Issues

Because of the large economical and industrial value that is concentrated in the basin, it is very vulnerable to damage by extreme peak flows and low flows occurring in the river (e.g. Kleinn et al., 2005). The extreme stream flow drought in 2003 caused problems with inland navigation due to low water levels, and energy plants suffered from lack of cooling water due to low discharges and high water temperatures. Because of global warming such problems are expected to increase (IPCC, 2014).

The International Commission for the protection of the Rhine (ICPR) has decided about its themes for the next years at its Conference of Ministers in October 2013. The major fields of future action are: micro-pollutants, river continuity for fish migration, flood protection and adaptation to climate change. The latter also includes phases of low water discharge when air and water temperatures are high, which, for ecological reasons, is critical for water quality, navigation and cooling water purposes.

Contacted stakeholders

Bram Vreugdenhil (province Gelderland, NL) on the Agadapt tool on agricultural risks and water use.

To have farmers fill in their information on the web, they have to get something in return. The information about future yield of crops can be such an asset, especially when this is linked to market prices. E.g. if many farmers in an area cultivate the same crop, the price will become low. There is a growing interest of farmers for the effects of climate change, but only farmers that are starting up and/or have to decide about larger investments will have a look at time-periods of longer than 5 years. The list should be extended to include varieties of the different crops, as these can be substantially different in their water demand and evapotranspiration. The graph in the example seems to be quite complex, the information that should be given as output should be discussed with farmers and/or famers organisations.

Reference

CCNR, 2009. Market observation for inland navigation in Europe. Technical report, Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine and European Commission Directorate-General for Energy and Transport, Strasbourg, France.

Dieperink, C. 1997. International Regime Development: Lessons from the Rhine Catchment Area. TDRI Quarterly Review, No. 12, pp. 27–35.

Eberle M., Buiteveld H., Wilke K. & Krahe P. Hydrological modelling in the river Rhine basin, Part III – daily HBV model for the Rhine basin. BfG-1451, Institute for Inland Water Management and Waste Water Treatment (RIZA) and Bundesanstalt für Gewässerkunde (BfG), Koblenz, Germany.

Grabs, 1997. Impact of climate change on hydrological regimes and water resource management in the Rhine basin. Technical Report I-16, CHR, Lelystad, the Netherlands

Hooijer, A., Klijn, F., Pedroli, G.B.M., and Van Os, A.G., 2004. Towards sustainable flood risk management in the Rhine and Meuse basins: synopsis of the findings of IRMA-SPONGE. River Research and Applications, 20:343–357.

ICPR (2001). Atlas 2001. Atlas of flood danger and potential damage due to extreme floods of the Rhine. Technical report, International Commission on the Protection of the Rhine. Koblenz, Germany.
IPCC Working Group II, 2014. Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability.

Jonkeren, O., Rietveld, P., and van Ommeren, J. (2007). Climate change and inland waterway transport - Welfare effects of low water levels on the River Rhine. Journal of Transport Economics and Policy, 41:387–411.

Kleinn, J., C. Frei, J. Gurtz, D. L¨uthi, P. L. Vidale, and C. Sch¨ar (2005),Hydrologic simulations in the Rhine basin driven by a regional climate model, J. Geophys. Res., 110, D04102, doi:10.1029/2004JD005143.

Preusser, 2008. Characterisation and evolution of the river Rhine system. Netherlands Journal of Geosciences, 51(1):7–19.

Wessel, 1995. Flood management of the transnational Rhine river. In U.S.– Italy Research Workshop on the Hydrometeorology, Impacts, and Management of Extreme Floods, 13–17 November 1995, Perugia, Italy.