​Retreating glaciers and reduced snowfall as a result of climate change will be the major water management challenges in the future. There will still be enough water in Switzerland in 2100, but its regional and seasonal distribution will vary more strongly than it does today.

Multi-purpose reservoirs - in Switzerland mainly barrier lakes where water is stored for various users - offer a solution to this problem.

At the University of Bern, a research group has devised specific implementation measures based on the extensive scientific data obtained in projects such as those conducted under NRP 61. The researchers have published a brochure showing that such reservoirs can play a crucial role in bridging heatwaves.