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XtraBlatt Issue 01-2020

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TITLE THEME DRINKING

TITLE THEME DRINKING WATER QUALITY “SLURRY IS NOT THE PROBLEM” “Over-fertilisation” with manure slurry and fermentation residues is seen by parts of the political sector and population as the main cause of high nitrate levels in drinking water. Current evaluations now show that this conclusion is wrong, says Dr Hans-Heinrich Kowalewsky in this interview. Also not factually supportable, he adds, is the existing method of identifying the so-called red zones. 6

With the approval end of March by Germany’s Federal Assembly, the further reduction of applied nutrients under the Fertiliser Application Ordinance is seen as accepted. In a matter of weeks, following publication of the amended ordinance in the federal law gazette, many new regulations will come into force, although new stricter regulations for particularly vulnerable so-called red zones will not be applied until 1.1.2021. Until then, demarcation of these zones is to be reviewed and the rules for establishment looked over. From the agricultural sector in particular, robust resistance has developed especially against the red zones already established in the federal states. And justifiably so, according to two recognised fertiliser and plant nutrient experts: Dr Hans-Heinrich Kowalewsky, former head of the Department for Energy, Buildings and Machinery, Lower Saxony Chamber of Agriculture and Dr Günter Steffens, former head of LUFA (Laboratory for Agricultural and Environmental Analysis) in Oldenburg. They forward very interesting results based on comprehensive analysis of existing fundamental data from official sources, using examples from Lower Saxony. 7