Water scarcity in Switzerland: why rivers are not treated like on cruise ships

Since May, a strict ban on watering plants, washing cars or filling pools has been in force in certain regions of Ticino.

But the problem is by no means confined to the southern side of the Alps any longer. From the empty reservoirs in Valais to falling groundwater levels on the Central Plateau and drying-up springs in Grisons, the whole of Switzerland is struggling with water scarcity. At the same time, rivers and streams, such as the Brenno in the Blenio valley, still carry noticeable amounts of water that flow unused past thirsty municipalities. The obvious question: why is this water not treated in a decentralised manner to bridge the shortages? The answer lies less in a lack of technology than in infrastructure, costs and political priorities, which will have to change in view of climate change.

The facts about the current water crisis

In Ticino, the Associazione Acquedotti Ticinesi (AAT) speaks of an emergency: since autumn 2025 the canton has experienced a massive rainfall deficit. Water reserves in numerous municipalities are at historic lows, and the average daily consumption per inhabitant reaches up to 500 litres in places. The pattern is similar nationwide: spring 2026 was, in the Swiss average, one of the driest since records began in 1864, with noticeable consequences from the Lake Geneva region to Grisons.

Switzerland's reservoirs, which are central to electricity production, are also in a poor state: at a fill level of around 46 per cent, they are as empty as they have not been for 20 years, 16.4 percentage points below the long-term average. In the short term, of all things it is the heat that helps, because intensified glacier melt supplies additional water. In the long term, however, this effect reverses: glacier researchers warn that with comparable heatwaves in ten to thirty years, significantly less meltwater will be available, with consequences for practically all major Swiss rivers such as the Aare, Rhone and Rhine.

Additional emergency slaughters due to water and feed shortages

The persistent drought and heat have dried out pastures in the Mittelland and in the mountains, farmers are running out of feed, and on the alpine pastures the drinking water for the herds is drying up in many places. The consequence is documented: according to figures from the meat industry organisation Proviande, around 23,900 cows were slaughtered in calendar weeks 23 to 30 of the year 2026, compared with around 18,740 in the same period of the previous year, an increase of over 5,000 animals. Peter Bosshard, managing director of the Swiss Livestock Traders' Association, speaks to SRF of a «new phenomenon»: seasonal peaks in August and September do always occur, but «in this magnitude» the current figures are new.

Because no crisis-proof, decentralised irrigation and treatment systems exist so far, farmers are already drawing on their winter feed reserves. Those who cannot afford the expensive purchase of additional feed, or whose alpine pasture no longer carries water, send affected animals to slaughter prematurely.

When firefighting water and drinking water supply draw on the same resource

The situation becomes particularly delicate where, during forest fires, the fire brigade must draw large quantities of firefighting water via the same hydrants that also feed the drinking water network, in order to protect villages. In prolonged dry periods, both uses compete directly with one another. According to AAT, the networks in Ticino are already exposed to an increased risk of disruptions and outages.

The fact that forest fire risk and drought increasingly coincide does not stop the hobby hunting season in several European countries such as Portugal, Spain and France from falling right in the middle of the hottest and most fire-prone time of the year, as our comparison between Portugal, Spain and France shows.

Why river water is not yet treated

A large part of Switzerland's drinking water supply traditionally comes from springs and groundwater. River water would theoretically be available, but treating it is more complex than it first appears:

• Fluctuating contamination: River water fluctuates in turbidity, microbial load and pollutant inputs from agriculture and industry, depending on weather and season.
• Lack of infrastructure: It would require modern, multi-stage filtration plants and membrane processes, effectively a new waterworks rather than a simple connection.
• Investment needs: Building and operating such facilities requires substantial investment, multi-year planning and cross-cantonal coordination.
• Ecological limits: Rivers are subject to a legally protected minimum ecological flow, which further restricts abstraction during dry periods.

Yet the technology used on the high seas shows what is possible: for decades, cruise ships have produced their own drinking water autonomously, mostly through reverse osmosis and membrane filtration of seawater. River water does not require energy-intensive desalination, only filtration and disinfection, a process that is already established practice in countries with comparable water scarcity such as parts of Australia or Spain. In Switzerland, what is lacking is less the technology than the political will to plan such facilities across cantonal borders before the next crisis rather than after it.

Those who suffer: non-human animals

While humans can restrict their consumption, non-human animals have no alternative. A roe deer needs one to two litres of water daily, red deer up to ten litres, wild boars two to three litres, mostly from pools, watercourses and ponds that are the first to dry up during dry periods, as our article «Forest dwellers: heat is here, native wild animals stay cool» shows.

Scientific studies also demonstrate that heatwaves and droughts intensify deadly conflicts between humans and wild animals, because animals are forced to move into areas used by humans, more on this in our article «Climate crisis intensifies conflicts between humans and wild animals». There are indeed natural allies: beaver dams keep wetlands alive even in pronounced dry years and cool the surroundings, as our article «Beavers are important allies for greater biodiversity» shows, an approach that has so far received too little attention in Switzerland-wide water policy.

Conclusion

The combination of persistent drought, melting glaciers and rising wildfire risk makes it clear that the existing system is reaching its limits. Technically proven solutions, from separate firefighting water intakes to decentralised river water treatment, are on the table. What is missing is the political decision to implement them, across cantonal boundaries and not only after the next crisis.

Editorial comment: The fact that livestock are the first to be reduced to mere commodities in a drought and quietly disappear from the alpine pastures, while political priorities lie elsewhere, shows whose needs count first in this system. Anyone who, in the face of the climate crisis, continues to cut costs at the expense of the weakest accepts suffering that could be avoided with political will and timely investment, for livestock just as much as for non-human wild animals.