Overview

• The Landkreis Kassel ban bars nonpermitted withdrawals from all local rivers, lakes and streams—excluding only the Fulda and Weser—through October 31.
• Stadt Kassel’s municipal order, effective July 12, extends similar restrictions on smaller water bodies until December 31.
• Permitted uses remain exempt under strict conditions outlined in individual permits, and violators face fines up to €100,000.
• Officials warn that record-low flows and rising temperatures jeopardize habitats in small waters and risk mass die-offs of aquatic organisms.
• Neighboring districts in Gießen and Werra-Meißner-Kreis had imposed surface-water bans earlier reflecting a broader regional response to prolonged drought.