Water board call in police after drought inspectors face threats

Water authorities in Noord-Brabant have contacted police after inspectors received threats for checking whether local residents were breaking drought restrictions.

The Brabantse Delta water board, which covers an area centred on Breda stretching from the Maas to the Belgian border, has imposed a ban on taking water from streams and ditches between 9am and 9pm.

Inspectors have been using drones equipped with cameras to monitor fields since the ban was introduced a month ago. But staff who were named in a recent article on news website Omroep Brabant about their work have since ben subjected to threats.

Water board chairman Joris Bengevoord would not go into detail about the threats, but said a criminal complaint had been filed with police so they could investigate.

“It’s very serious and goes way too far,” he told NOS. “It’s not OK that they’re being threatened, which is why I’m speaking out as water board chair.

“We are doing this with the best intentions and I stand behind my staff. They are in the midst of it day after day.”