Rems and Winterbach · River, water, nature and history

When the Rems runs low

Water abstraction ban, farmers and sponge land

Since 23 June 2026 the rule in the Rems-Murr district has been: no water may be taken from streams and rivers, not even with a watering can. The district office has since extended the ban until 31 October 2026. This is no longer unusual: there were similar bans in 2022 and 2025. For us surfers, low water simply means: no wave. For fish, crustaceans and insect larvae it means stress. And for everyone who looks after a garden, an orchard plot or a vineyard it means: the water is missing exactly when you need it. This page shows why that concerns everyone – and why farmers, winegrowers, orchard owners and surfers are pulling in the same direction.

What the abstraction ban covers

The general order (Allgemeinverfügung) of the Rems-Murr district office of 23 June 2026 provides:

No water from surface waters – that is, from the Rems and from every stream in the district, in any form, explicitly including buckets and watering cans.
Springs and fountains are covered too if they drain into a water body – including running and ornamental fountains.
Pumps already needed a water-law permit. Permits that contain no rule for dry periods also fall under the ban.
Exempt are permitted withdrawals for agricultural and commercial purposes – "for now", as the order says. If levels keep falling, the authority can tighten the rules.
Violations are administrative offences and can be fined up to 50,000 euros.

The ban initially applied until 30 September and was extended at the end of September to 31 October 2026; it can be lifted earlier once lasting rain brings the levels back up. Whether it applies to a particular stream can be answered by the district office's environmental protection department.

Why the district office does this

The district office's reasoning is short and clear: water levels across the district are mostly extremely low, after a dry winter half-year, a summer with little rain and an exceptionally dry September. Little water means: pollutants are more concentrated, habitats are cut off from each other, fish and other aquatic animals can move less freely. On top of that, shallow water warms up quickly in summer, and warm water holds less oxygen. Every bucket taken out then is missing from the stream. → The Rems is getting warmer · → Wildlife and plants along the Rems

What it means for farmers, winegrowers and orchard owners

Anyone who holds a water-law permit and makes a living from the land may currently go on taking water. Anyone who has an orchard plot with young fruit trees or a garden by a stream may not – not even with a watering can. That is not unfair, it is a balance: the authority protects the waters as far as it can without endangering livelihoods.

But the same applies to everyone: when the streams run low, the only help is water that stayed in the landscape beforehand – in the soil, in the groundwater, in the cistern. And that is exactly where the interests meet. The German Environment Agency (Umweltbundesamt) puts it in a nutshell: keep more water in the landscape instead of draining it quickly, through adapted land management. Those who manage land have it in their hands.

Pulling together: land that holds water

Fields and meadows. Soil-friendly management preserves the soil's capacity to store water and supports groundwater recharge, writes the Environment Agency. Covered soil, humus, catch crops and little compaction let rain soak in instead of running off. Many farmers have long been doing this – in their own interest too, because dry soil bears no harvest.

Vineyards – praise with an honest trade-off. Winegrowers are among the first to hold water on the slope: grassed alleys between the rows reduce erosion and improve soil structure; more humus in the soil increases water storage. Dry-stone walls and terraces slow the water down further, loosened soil takes it up better. Honesty also means saying this: the green cover competes with the vines for water. In dry periods winegrowers therefore often keep only every second or third alley green and leave the others open. They weigh it up anew every year – between erosion control, water in the soil and the thirst of their vines. That deserves respect, not lecturing. → Vineyards of tomorrow · → Traces in the Hungerberg

Orchard meadows. A well-kept orchard meadow (Streuobstwiese) is permanent grassland: the soil is covered all year, well rooted and takes up rain. To stay that way, someone has to mow, prune and harvest – otherwise it turns into scrub. That also means you have to get there with equipment. Farm tracks are therefore no side issue. Where they are maintained, plot owners can reach their land. Where they decay it becomes hard work – and a washed-out farm track turns into a channel itself in heavy rain, carrying water and soil downhill. → Forest or meadow? · → Report farm-track damage

Why watering sometimes protects the soil

Dried-out soil takes up water poorly. Experts call this water repellency: the first heavy rain after a drought beads off, runs away over the surface and carries soil with it; even when the surface is wet, the ground beneath can still be bone-dry and hard. Then there is crusting: on bare soil, raindrops smash the fine crumbs, the surface seals and afterwards lets even less water through.

The best remedy is plant cover – grass, mulch, green cover, humus. Watering helps above all by keeping that cover alive in dry spells. The water for it should then come from the cistern, not from the stream.

What everyone can do

During the ban, take no water from streams, springs or fountains – not even with a watering can.
Use the cistern in summer. And if your cistern has no retention space: when long or heavy rain is forecast – especially in the winter half-year, when the cistern is otherwise brim-full – drain part of it and let it soak into the lawn or a bed. Then it has room when the rain comes. Not onto frozen or already wet ground and not into the sewer, or the water is straight back in the stream. → The Winterbach cistern paradox
Keep soil covered: mulch, don't mow the lawn too short, green bare patches.
Lead rainwater from the roof into the garden rather than the sewer.
Report damage to farm tracks: a photo and the location are enough. → Send a note via the field-track map

Frequently asked questions

Does the abstraction ban apply to small streams too?

According to its wording, yes: it covers all surface waters in the Rems-Murr district, as well as springs and running or ornamental fountains that drain into a water body. Pure drainage ditches may be treated differently in law. In individual cases the district office's environmental protection department can advise.

May I scoop water from the stream with a watering can?

No. The general order explicitly names scooping with buckets and watering cans.

Why may farmers keep taking water?

Permitted withdrawals for agricultural and commercial purposes are currently unaffected – those who make a living from them depend on them. The permits carry their own conditions, and the district office reserves the right to impose further restrictions if levels keep falling.

How long does the ban apply?

Initially until 30 September 2026, now extended to 31 October 2026. It can be lifted earlier if lasting rain brings the levels back up.

Would a surf wave on the Rems take water away?

No. A standing wave takes nothing; the water flows through and on. At low water it simply would not run.

Sources: Municipality of Urbach, "Wasserentnahme aus öffentlichen Gewässern untersagt" (30.06.2026, based on the general order of the Rems-Murr district office of 23.06.2026) and "Wasserentnahmeverbot im Rems-Murr-Kreis bis Ende Oktober verlängert" (29.09.2026) · Stuttgarter Zeitung, "Hitze im Rems-Murr-Kreis: Kein Wasser mehr aus Bächen und Flüssen" (26.06.2026) · Stuttgarter Zeitung, "Landkreis im Dürremodus" (05.07.2025) · Backnanger Kreiszeitung, "Wasserentnahme im Rems-Murr-Kreis wird eingeschränkt" (18.08.2022) · Umweltbundesamt, "Landschaftswasserhaushalt stabilisieren" · Michael Weber (DLR Mosel), "Begrünung im Weinberg ist bunt", Mosel winegrowing day 2021 · top agrar, "Benetzungshemmung bereits Alltag" · → Sponge landscape Winterbach

Last updated: 15 October 2026 · Initiative Remswelle