On August 12th 2026 Oliver Krischer, Minister for the Environment of North Rhine-Westphalia, visited the FiW

We were delighted to welcome our Minister for the Environment and the opportunity to have an open and constructive exchange

Visit by the NRW Minister for the Environment to the FiW: (from left to right) Prof. Dr.-Ing. Frank Obenaus (EGLV and member of the Executive Board of FiW e. V.), Dr.-Ing. Natalie Palm (Commercial Director of FiW e. V.), Prof. Dr. Christoph Donner (Member of the Executive Board of FiW e. V.), Oliver Krischer (NRW-Minister for the Environment, MUNV), Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Johannes Pinnekamp (Member of the Executive Board of FiW e. V.), Dr.-Ing. Jutta Niederste-Hollenberg (Managing Director of FiW e. V.), Dr.-Ing. Dirk Waider (Gelsenwasser and Chair of the Board of FiW e. V.), Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Thomas Wintgens (ISA at RWTH Aachen University and Executive Director of FiW e. V.).  © FiW e. V.

FiW Managing Director Dr. Jutta Niederste-Hollenberg, Commercial Director Dr. Natalie Palm, as well as the FiW Board members Prof. Frank Obenaus, Prof. Christoph Donner, Prof. Johannes Pinnekamp, Prof. Thomas Wintgens and Dr. Dirk Waider had the opportunity to discuss the current water situation in the state, the state’s water strategy and potential solutions with Minister Krischer.

We are seeing a shift in the water cycle towards highly variable precipitation patterns. The Alps are losing their role as major water reservoirs, both due to the retreat of glaciers and in terms of the storage capacity provided by large amounts of snow. Stable weather patterns result in long periods of drought. Heavy rainfall events can overwhelm both drainage and river systems.

It is clear what we must achieve in the future: storing water in the landscape (soil, dams, retention basins, floodplains, moors, etc.) is essential for balancing the water supply throughout the year. At the same time, it is also a fundamental component of flood protection. These issues are also addressed in the current draft of the H₂O-NRW Future Water Strategy.