The Rhine water level in Kaub temporarily falls to a historic low of two centimeters

The water level on Germany's most important inland waterway, the Rhine, has temporarily fallen to its lowest value. On Thursday it sank to two centimeters at the Kaub bottleneck near Koblenz, which is important for shipping, as the Federal Waterways and Shipping Administration (WSV) announced. However, on Friday morning the value rose again to five centimeters.

According to a spokesman, it still needs to be verified whether the value is a new low. However, the preliminary data suggested so.

Larger ships cannot sail continuously

Water levels have been measured since the 19th century. They are a reference value for shipping; the Rhine is actually a good meter deeper in Kaub.

The historic low water levels in the Rhine also have an impact on the economy. The chief economist at the Hamburg Commercial Bank, Cyrus de la Rubia, speaks of the Rhine being divided into two parts because the river at Kaub is no longer navigable for larger river ships. “This results in inefficiencies in transportation and supply chain problems,” said de la Rubia. They are likely to have contributed to industrial production shrinking by 1.1 percent in July compared to the previous month.

Low water levels were caused by extreme drought

Recently, the four federal states on the Rhine had demanded more federal funding for the maintenance of waterways. Hesse, Baden-Württemberg, North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate called on the federal government to take waterways into account in transport policy in addition to roads and rail.