The Governor of Flemish Brabant, Jan Spooren, announced on Thursday that the region's water extraction ban would be expanded to include additional catchment areas.
Previously, such bans were already in place in several streams and waterways across Flemish Brabant due to low water levels. From Friday, they will also cover the catchment areas of the Hanswijkbeek and Barebeek streams.
The decision comes as water levels in the Dijle and Zenne basins within these catchments have failed to reach minimum values, despite variable weather last week.
These watercourses are located in the municipalities of Boortmeerbeek, Kampenhout, Machelen, Steenokkerzeel, Vilvoorde, Zaventem, and Zemst.
Water levels have been declining consistently in recent weeks, Spooren stated. He noted that while there was some rainfall, it was localised and did not significantly stabilise water levels, causing several waterways to fall below minimum thresholds.
Downstream, in the province of Antwerp, extraction bans are already in place, prompting similar measures upstream.
