Germany is facing shortages of a precious commodity（日用品）. Climate change pollution and growing use are leading to water wells（井） no longer being able to meet demand. Spots with water of drinking quality are getting harder to find. To find new water sources, even dowsing is making a comeback. It pulls up here in your arm. Water shortages are even taking their toll（通行费） on Bavarian beer production.

  We could produce a lot more but are operating below capacity because we're not getting enough water. The Steinberg Brewery in Bavaria, southern Germany. Florian Schu originally wanted to expand operations here and produce more beer, but the brewery has no wells of its own. Its water supply comes from the town, and Steinberg is facing a water shortage. A limit was set as to how much water the brewery can use, and the utility（实用） company reduced the size of the pipe for incoming（进来的） water. When you have a pipe like this, only a certain amount of water can pass through anyway, but it's also limited right here to a preset（预先装置） quantity.

  The pipe is as thin as a regular household water pipe. He'd hoped to produce 200,000 hectares（公顷） per year but can only make 50,000. There's simply not enough water. Currently the limiting factor is the municipal（市政的） supply. If we had more water, we'd be able to hook（钩住） up three more tanks. We already have all the piping.

  300 kilometers further north lies the village of Beck time, which is also facing water scarcity（不足）. The village of 3,000 people has its own small water works, but the wells can no longer yield（屈服） enough, especially in the summer. There's also a quality issue. The groundwater（地下水） has become polluted with fertilizers used by farms in the area, and therefore has to be treated at considerable cost and mixed with uncontaminated water. Local mayor Konrad Schlihe is under pressure. The farming industry says it needs a lot more water to irrigate specialty crops, and people need to have a secure supply of drinking water.

  Those are conflicting interests. In the long term we won't be able to guarantee a steady supply of approved quality drinking water on our own. For a farmer in Beck time, the water scarcity has already become an existential issue. Richard Konrad converted his parents' small sideline（ 副业） farm to organic production and expanded it significantly. The droughts of recent years mean his business is now in danger. Switching to other crops that need less water isn't an option.

  There was a demand for vegetables. Domestic production meets just 40 or 50 percent of Germany's vegetable consumption. But switching wouldn't be easy for us. We have all of the equipment and invested in these crops. Konrad has his own wells on his farm, but since the beginning of 2023, due to shortages in the region, the authorities have cut the amount of water he's permitted to extract（提取） in half. This, although over the last few years the farmer has needed more water and not less.

  He and other affected farmers have called for water to be pumped（泵） here from the nearby river Main, but such a decision takes time. Meanwhile, Konrad is doing what he can to cut back on water. Here he's using undersoil plastic pipes to irrigate his time crop to minimize（使减到最少） evaporation（蒸发）. With drip irrigation you need 20 to 30 percent less water, so you save water by not losing any. The root of the problem here is climate change, which has the farmer deeply concerned. "We have longer dry periods and more intense heavy rainfall here as well now. Before, I didn't have the impression that it was so dry for so long."

  The crucial factor is what's called ground water recharge（再充电）, which is when underground aquifers（ 含水土层） are replenished（补充） by water seeping（渗出） into the ground. Areas marked blue on the map are okay. Those marked yellow, orange and red have too little new groundwater. The regional agency for mining（采矿业） energy and geology has been tracking the development of groundwater（地下水） recharge（再充电） in northern Germany. The mathematical（数学的） models they've created indicate that significant ships are coming. "There are areas where we know that between the years 2071 and 2100 there will be more groundwater. And right next to these, there are areas where the groundwater will be depleted（耗尽）.

  So on the one hand, there will be the question of whether plants will get enough water. And virtually right next door, someone may have problems with their house because of rising groundwater." According to the German Meteorological（气象的） Service, heavy rainfall events have increased by 25 percent since 1950. But such massive rainfalls contribute little to groundwater recharge because they flow off into the sea via canals and straightened rivers. As a result, in dry summers, more groundwater is consumed than is recharged. This phenomenon is called groundwater depletion（损耗）.

  "What can we do to restrain precipitation（仓促）, which may be heavier than before and less spread out? How can we hold back those water masses? For example, by trying to accumulate（积聚） that water and bring it exactly to where it's needed." Pedes Haagen in North Rhine-Westphalia. The local waterworks（自来水厂） are busy upgrading（提高） here. Hydrogeologist Frank Schmidt has worked out the ideal place for a new drinking water well. The aim is to be prepared for the impact of climate change.

  And this is where the well will be installed. "We have the mainstay（支柱） here, 1.5 million cubic meters. That's over 80 percent of the amount needed from this one location alone." The well should be finished and ready for use this year. The drilling company's engineer, representatives from the waterworks and a specialist engineer, are inspecting（检查） the site recommended by Schmidt. It's a big responsibility for the hydrogeologist. He's had to take many factors into account.

  "There is the availability（有效（性）） of land and then the areas where the groundwater（地下水）-bearing（承担） layers are particularly thick, where we can expect many meters of sand and gravel（砂砾） that filter（滤过） the groundwater（地下水）. And then permeability（渗透性） of the layers is important, so that we can ensure the amount required can actually be extracted." This is what a typical extraction（取出） well in Germany looks like. After a test drill, the well shaft（轴） is dug out and a water pipe installed with a pump（泵）. The groundwater flows through filter slots（狭缝） into the shaft（轴） and is then pumped（泵） up. If a lot is withdrawn, the groundwater level can drop, which is why there are strict limits set by the authorities. Frank Schmidt's services are more in demand than ever.

  He travels all over Germany to track down ideal locations for new wells and always brings his hydrogeological maps. They feature data（资料） from all test drills conducted and known groundwater（地下水） measuring points. "With the help of a wealth of additional data, Schmidt then creates computer models of where there is sufficient groundwater and where the groundwater recharge rate is healthy." "I can test various locations without the need for on-site measures. The model itself contains all the basic data about the area, like the depth of the aquifer, the groundwater level, recharge rate, etc. And I can place a well location at any point in the model. The results show that this is a really useful instrument for subsequent planning too."

  Marburg, further south in central Germany, where Günther Vestenhof has a very different approach. He uses a controversial instrument to find an ideal drilling site.