Drought Threatens to Choke Europe’s Second-Largest Port as Water Levels Plunge and Salt Creeps In

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Persistent drought across northwestern Europe is pushing water levels in the docks of Port of Antwerp-Bruges down by several centimetres a day, threatening access for deep-draught vessels and forcing port authorities into a delicate balancing act between maritime operations, industrial water supply, and drinking water security.

The situation is acute in Antwerp, where the Meuse River feeds the Albert Canal and the interconnected dock system. When rainfall fails, the entire hydraulic network feels the strain. The Albert Canal doubles as Flanders’ largest drinking water reservoir. When its level drops, De Vlaamse Waterweg pumps water from the port docks back into the canal to safeguard public water supplies, further depleting the maritime basin.

The port can, in theory, replenish docks from the Scheldt Estuary using emergency pumps. The catch is salinity. Scheldt water is saltier than dock water. Pumping it inland raises chloride levels, which corrodes bridges, locks, and quay infrastructure. It also threatens the industrial processes of Europe’s largest petrochemical cluster, where firms capture dock water for cooling and steam production. Most companies have adapted to limited salinity increases, but the margin is narrowing.

Saline dock water that flows into inland canals and rivers poses a broader environmental and agricultural threat. Research published in the Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies projects that salt intrusion up to drinking water inlets, currently rare, could occur up to 10 percent of the time by 2100 under high-impact climate scenarios.

Port authorities are responding with grouped lock passages to minimise salt inflow, and by holding Scheldt pumps in reserve. On some Belgian waterways, inland vessels have already been forced to leave 10 to 20 percent of cargo ashore, according to Koepel Binnenvaart Vlaanderen.

More than half of the goods leaving Port of Antwerp-Bruges move by inland waterway. Shipping operators have warned that continued delays to diesel and petrol tankers could eventually affect deliveries to filling stations.

The regional government has escalated its response. Flanders is now under a code orange drought alert, signifying “effective water scarcity.” Antwerp province will extend a full water abstraction ban across its entire territory from 6 August, prohibiting farmers and growers from pumping irrigation water from streams and ditches.

In the short term, the port is relying on operational efficiency and restraint. The emergency Scheldt pumps were last used in 2022 and remain idle for now. In the longer term, Port of Antwerp-Bruges is investing in water infiltration, reuse, and availability projects to build climate resilience.

Thierry Vanelslander, a transport economist at the University of Antwerp, cautioned that lock efficiency measures and tributary transfers can only temporarily limit the damage. He warned that the situation could deteriorate further if the drought persists into August and September.

The episode underscores a structural vulnerability: Europe’s densest industrial port complex sits atop a freshwater network that is becoming less reliable. As climate stress intensifies, the trade-off between keeping ships afloat and keeping taps running is no longer theoretical.