Construction costs are currently skyrocketing

I'm absolutely not a fan of rock gardens, but I also think cisterns are only moderately useful. It's just standing water; most cisterns I know are grimy. In the end, you have a concrete pot in the ground that fills once and then starts to smell grimy sometime during the first year, after which no one opens the lid anymore.
I don't know of water really being used long-term for garden irrigation. But maybe my sample size is just too small; I'd be happy to be convinced otherwise.

That's nonsense. The cistern must have an overflow, and the water is constantly renewed because of it. On our purchased property, we have an old concrete three-chamber pit that hasn't been used for decades. It holds water 1.5 meters high, and it's as clear as a mountain lake even though no one withdraws any water. And we don't have a groundwater table here either.

I'm glad we have the pit because a cistern is required here, and the 3000 sqm garden wants to be irrigated intensively. However, I wouldn't buy one if it weren't mandatory. It's a high five-figure amount. You could water with drinking water for a long time with that.

Not questioned?
The people you are referring to – refugees applying for asylum – are fleeing from suffering and war. This is not questioned because it is enshrined in the Geneva Convention. It is a right of these people, and the _United Nations_ have agreed on this.
I am incredibly relieved that most people still have their wits about them and do NOT "question" the Geneva Convention.

Kati, now honestly, I think you are so amazing!!!
Have you ever actually thought about the fact that such a written law is not enforceable if the necessary resources are not available?
Our Basic Law does state that everyone has the right to asylum. However, it is the case that our Basic Law was written at a time when mass migrations to Europe like those happening today were unthinkable.

I could now ask various questions again, such as whether people are aware that this type of immigration increasingly endangers social peace (for this very reason alone the AFD is even at 20%) or whether they realize that mathematically a system that pays out more than it receives in the long run will come to its logical end.

I simply no longer ask these questions because I have NEVER received a reasonable answer.

That's nonsense. The cistern must have an overflow, and the water is constantly renewed through it. On the plot we bought, there is an old concrete 3-chamber pit that hasn't been used for decades. It contains 1.5 meters of water and is as clear as a mountain lake even though no one is drawing from it. And we don't have a groundwater table here either.

I'm glad we have the pit because a cistern is mandatory here, and the 3000 sqm garden needs intensive watering. However, I wouldn't buy one if it weren't required. It's a high five-figure sum. With that, you could water with drinking water for a long time.

Ok, good to know. So far, I've only seen cisterns where the water was stagnant. I don't know what that's related to though. The ones with overflows are somewhat more expensive, as far as I know, and the overflows are usually positioned so high that there is always water left at the bottom. However, at least it stays in motion then, I assume.

Kati, now honestly, I think you’re just amazing!!!

Oh thank you <3

Have you ever thought that such a written law is not enforceable if the necessary resources are not available?
Our Basic Law states that everyone has the right to asylum. However, it was written in a time when such migrations to Europe as we see today were unthinkable.

Think beyond the federal borders. The Geneva Convention concerns many more countries in the world than just ours.
Besides, you demonstrate, like many people with a similar ideology, major knowledge gaps here again. Long before the war in Ukraine, there were various large refugee movements. I don't need to list them for you, but just search for refugee movements since WWII online, and you will find plenty. They have not just "become conceivable" recently; they have been happening for decades.

I could ask various questions again now, like whether people are aware that this kind of immigration increasingly endangers social peace.

I don't believe it's "immigration" that endangers social peace.
I believe it is the widening gap between rich and poor and the lower social class that has chosen immigrants as scapegoats as a simple answer.

I simply don’t ask these questions anymore because I have NEVER received a reasonable answer.

I believe you don’t ask these questions anymore because you don’t want to hear the answers.
We could discuss this now, but sooner or later we’d end up talking about journalism and sources, which people of your ideology like to call the "lying press," which in turn renders the discussion pointless. So I’ll leave it at that.

THEN it should be done consistently. That means: There is no more social assistance and everyone is truly responsible for themselves and their own life, so abolition of citizen's income etc., no more payment of rent, and you only get medical treatment if you effectively pay contributions yourself.

I find THAT fair

Quiz question: WHY should that be fair?
We get our starting position in life by a lottery of sperm, so it starts already maximally unfair.

Analogous to your felt fairness would be that a wheelchair user competes against an athlete in 100m. That is then fair because the distance is the same for both.

Equalizing is not the same as making fair.

I don't really know of water being used for garden irrigation in the long term. But maybe my sample size is just too small, feel free to convince me otherwise.

It depends on what is being watered in the garden. If you water the lawn with 15 liters per square meter every week, then a normally sized cistern will be empty after at most 2 weeks. You have to build on a scale like Rick and also have correspondingly large roof areas (my cistern received maybe 2.5 cubic meters from last week's storms). If you only water the vegetable garden, a few flower beds, and a handful of young trees (well-rooted ones don’t really need it), then that lasts quite a long time even in dry periods, and on Saturdays you can use the rest to spray your car. To prevent a cistern from becoming stagnant, it’s usually enough that it is emptied regularly. I personally also find it odd that infiltration and retention are now mandated, but not usage in the household and garden.

It depends on what is being watered in the garden. If you water the lawn every week with 15l/sqm, then a normally sized cistern will be empty after no more than 2 weeks. You really have to build in dimensions like Rick and also have correspondingly large roof areas (my cistern received maybe 2.5 cubic meters from last week's storms). If you only water the vegetable garden, a few flower beds, and a handful of young trees (well-rooted ones actually don't need it), then that lasts quite a long time even in dry periods and on Saturdays you can still use the rest to wash your car. To prevent a cistern from going bad, it's actually enough if it is emptied regularly.

I personally also find it odd that infiltration and retention are now mandated, but no household or garden use.

I think the emptying is probably the crucial point. Or rather - what does regularly mean in this context?
How does it behave over late autumn and winter, when there is enough rain or you no longer water? Doesn't the water go bad then?
You probably only get a cistern completely empty regularly with a lot of effort?