Overview

• The draft ordinance will prohibit all swimming and wading across Düsseldorf’s 42.1-kilometer Rhine stretch under a municipal bylaw
• Federal Waterways and the NRW Interior Ministry both declined to impose a ban, citing lack of jurisdiction over recreational bathing
• Mid-year DLRG figures record 236 drownings through July, with 85 fatalities in rivers representing 73 percent of all incidents
• Düsseldorf Fire Department has been called to 46 Rhine emergencies so far this year, including the recovery of a six-year-old boy’s body
• Neighboring cities such as Cologne and Duisburg are evaluating similar measures to ensure consistent safety rules along the Rhine