The wet weather during July has led to a significant improvement in groundwater levels in our region. Currently just 1 in 5 groundwater measuring stations in Flanders report low to very low groundwater levels. This is only around half the number that did so at the end of what was a very dry June. However, looking at the picture over a longer period there has still been much less rain than normal.
The wet weather during recent week has its upside. The grass is greener, and flowers and plants are flourishing in our window boxes and gardens. Furthermore, there is now danger of low water levels in our streams, lakes, ponds and rivers.
The Flemish Environment Agency has released figures on groundwater levels at the various measuring stations across the 5 Flemish provinces.
· Groundwater levels at 21% of the measuring stations are low (14%) or very low (7%) for the time of year.
· 47% of the measuring stations have normal groundwater levels.
· 32% have high (21%) to very high (11%) groundwater levels for the time of year.
A month ago, 43% of the measuring stations had low to very low groundwater levels. The wet weather during July has seen this figure fall by just over half.
A year ago, the situation was the opposite of what it is now. July had been very dry and at the start of August 2022 there were low or very low groundwater levels at 79% of all Flemish measuring stations.
Despite the improvement in groundwater levels, we are around 6 months behind when it comes to average rainfall. To make good this deficit it would have to rain twice as much as normal for the next 6 months. The wet month of July has helped not only when it comes to groundwater, but also when it comes to air quality in Flanders.