Garda Lake Water Levels and Algae: New Regional Coordination Effort
The Authority of the Po Basin, the entity responsible for the waters of Lake Garda, also acknowledged the significance of the lake level issue and its direct influence on the development of macroalgae, the so-called algae that invade the shores of the lower lake during violent storms.
Interventions and perceptions on the problem
“In recent days, I attended, along with the head of the technical office, the meeting organized in Parma precisely by the director of the Authority of the Basin,” explains Vice Mayor Carlo Nosè.
“A coordination meeting for the containment of submerged vegetation in our lake.” “We discussed algae, but we closely linked the issue to the water levels, and that is exactly what Peschiera wanted to bring to the discussion. Many of those present recognized that algal production would hardly cause significant damage if the water level allowed the current to ‘wash’ over Garda, as it did before the construction of the Salionze dam,” Nosè reaffirmed.
“And this is certainly not the only sign indicating that the flow regulation, as currently implemented, conflicts with the health of the lake.” The vice mayor cited the example of reed beds that no longer grow as they should because they are submerged by water.
Environmental impact and discharges
“The reed bed is not a rice field. Everywhere, young shrubs can be seen rotting because water no longer has its natural fluctuations. In Parma, two managers of the Mincio Consortium were also present, which draws water from Garda for irrigating agricultural enterprises: when the Salionze dam was built, there were forty thousand; today, there are one hundred seventy thousand,” he stated.
“If Mantua needs a water reserve to also offset the natural decline of this precious resource,” reaffirms the vice mayor, “it cannot simply treat Garda as a large basin at its disposal and ignore the balances of an ecosystem that must be safeguarded.”
Future proposals and decisions
The Parma meeting led to the establishment of a technical commission composed of representatives from Regions, Provinces, Municipalities, and Consortia interested in the waters of Garda.
They will meet on Thursday, May 25, in Sirmione to begin gathering all the data collected over the years by various entities and create a unified database available to both technicians and politicians.
“The dispersion of responsibilities,” concludes Nosè, “is one of the factors that has so far harmed Garda, along with the silence that has accompanied water management in favor of Mantua for years. We hope that the awareness of the problem, even among the Garda economic realities that support us, will motivate politicians to take the necessary actions.”
Giuditta Bolognesi