Berlin has water to spare. Wouldn’t we like to be able to say that of Southern California? There are several reasons for Berlin’s abundance of water: To start with, the water table of the German capital lies only a few feet below the surface in some instances. We can’t duplicate that. But there is one aspect we can try to emulate: Berlin is using far less water today than it did twenty years ago. According to Stefan Natz, representative of the Berlin Waterworks, total water consumption during 2011 and 2012 combined was less than that in 1989!

Natz explained that, water consumption has dropped greatly in Berlin after inefficient industrial firms closed their doors following reunification in 1989. But the credit also goes to the manufactures, which have made appliances more efficient. And finally, consumers deserve a large part of the credit. They use far less water to shower and wash now than they did twenty years ago. (see Annette Koegel – www.tagesspiegel.de)

Ironically, there is also a downside to the decrease in water use. The reduction of water consumption has allowed the groundwater table to rise. About 50 public buildings in Berlin are now threatened by water trying to invade their basements. The most prominent among them is the Rote Rathaus (red city hall). Not only is the Rote Rathaus one of Berlin’s historic landmarks, but constructed between 1861 and 1869 and clad in red clinker bricks, it is also the seat of Berlin’s city government.

Rotes Rathaus near the Alexanderplatz

Berlin has water to spare. Wouldn’t it be nice if those of us in Southern California could say the same?

For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: historic and current events, people, places and food.

Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.