Irrigation water resources equivalent to one-third of Lake Balaton are available

By: Trademagazin Date: 2025. 07. 04. 10:34

Despite the extreme drought and lack of precipitation, we can meet all irrigation needs – said Imre Hubai, the State Secretary responsible for agriculture at the Ministry of Agriculture. He added that the free irrigation water provided to farmers is a key element in the protection against drought.

The State Secretary drew attention to the fact that the hot, dry and rainy weather will continue, as a result of which the water yield of the Tisza River and the water balance of Lake Tisza are currently showing a decreasing trend. Thanks to previous government measures, the water retention that has been going on since March, and the implementation of the Drought Protection Action Plan, we can count on a surplus of 178 million cubic meters, so despite the extreme drought, 650 million cubic meters of water are available in the reservoirs, main canals and backwaters, equivalent to one third of Lake Balaton.

This amount is sufficient to meet the water needs of the population, as well as for ecological and agricultural water supply. The preservation of stocks and the scheduled satisfaction of needs will continue at both Lake Tisza and the Upper Tisza, but the cooling and precipitation weather forecast by Hydrometeorology is cause for optimism, which is expected to alleviate the water shortage from the first half of next week.

The Ministry of Agriculture aims to continue water retention in Hungary this autumn and winter, so that by the summer of 2026 we will reach 1.5 billion, and by the end of 2026 we will reach 3 billion cubic meters of water stored in the landscape and soil, which we will use to make up for the missing amount of precipitation, which will mean retaining a water mass equivalent to one and a half Lake Balaton.

Imre Hubai also mentioned that the government will provide all assistance to farmers so that they can respond appropriately to the challenges posed by climate change. As an example, he mentioned that 1,000 people and more than 200 machines are still working non-stop to protect against drought. In this situation, water conservation is the most important thing, so to this end, the government has allocated 4.7 billion forints of emergency funds for the implementation of the Drought Protection Action Plan, filling reservoirs, backwaters and canals, restoring their water storage capacity, and gravity and pumped water replenishment is being carried out at several hundred intervention points. This year, the fee for water purchased from state-owned works has also become free, and 10 billion forints is available to cover this.