In order to save water during the heatwave, recreational boats will no longer be able to pass through the canal locks individually and will instead have to go through in groups, the port authority of Brussels announced Tuesday.
"Each time a boat goes through a lock, we lose water," Sylvain Godfroid of the Brussels port authority said, according to BX1.
Recreational boats will be required to pass through the locks with commercial or industrial boats or to wait for other non-priority boats to arrive before they can use any of the around dozen locks in the city's canal.
The decision was taken as a precautionary measure, as the current heatwave is set to send temperatures soaring from Wednesday.
"The port authority decided to implement this measure to reduce potential drought risks, but water levels remain perfectly acceptable for the time being," Godfroid said.
Gabriela Galindo
The Brussels Times