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

(Photo: Pixabay)

The State Secretary drew attention to the fact that the hot, precipitation-free and dry 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 extraordinary drought, 650 million cubic meters of water resources, equivalent to one-third of Lake Balaton, are available in the reservoirs, main canals and backwaters. 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 goal of the Ministry of Agriculture is 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.

Hubai Imre also mentioned that the government will provide all assistance to farmers to be able to respond appropriately to the challenges posed by climate change

He mentioned as an example that 1,000 people and more than 200 machines are still working non-stop to protect against drought. In this situation, the most important thing is to retain water, so to this end, the government has allocated 4.7 billion forints of emergency funds for the implementation of the Drought Protection Action Plan, for 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. Imre Hubai finds it outrageous that Brussels and the Tisza Party voted against the free water fee, which would oppress Hungarian farmers struggling with climate change and make them pay for every drop of water, which is now worth gold to farmers! The Tisza Party members are once again bringing Brussels’ expectations and openly declaring: the worse it is for Hungarian farmers, the better it is for the Tisza Party. He explained that the Government of Hungary is not standing idly by and, beyond this, is using every means to help farmers ensure that their yields are secure, their income is stabilized and, thanks to state interventions, irrigation development tenders, free water service fees and accumulated water resources, they can effectively defend themselves against the damage caused by extreme weather. We Hungarians can produce our own daily bread and we will not let anyone jeopardize this, the Secretary of State stated.

AM