Lake Garda Water Levels Stay High Despite Fine Weather, Authorities Monitor
Even with the return of fine weather, the water levels of Garda remain high. Yesterday, Tuesday morning, they were recorded at 172 centimeters above the Peschiera hydrometric zero, after reaching a maximum level of over 174 centimeters last week. Concerns among the Garda population remain serious, although the situation continues to be constantly monitored by the Magistrato alle Acque officials.
With the Salionze locks in place, the outflow of the Mincio River is regulated, which is currently discharging 190 cubic meters of water per second, affecting the lakes of Mantova in turn. This situation also keeps the Azienda speciale Garda Uno on alert regarding the pipelines of the circumlacual structure, which collect the wastewater from much of the western shore of Lake Garda, then directing it to the Peschiera treatment plant, where all waters from the eastern shore, managed by the Azienda Gardesana Servizi, also flow.
Conditions of the collectors and water management
Naturally, with this situation, large quantities of waters not coming exclusively from sewage systems are entering the two collectors. Clear or almost clear waters reaching the Peschiera treatment plant, managed by Garda Uno. «A very heavy situation, which engages us daily in systematic inspections of the entire network,» states Guido Maruelli, president of Garda Uno.
«To monitor the entire situation minute by minute,» he adds. Currently, no damage to the purification plant or the collection network of the entire sewer system has been reported. This condition provides reassurance and offers hope for the upcoming tourist season, aiming to repeat the recent positive years characterized by a gradual improvement in the cleanliness and bathability of Lake Garda’s waters.
Future projects and initiatives
The activities of Garda Uno Consortium also focus on new initiatives and «key steps», including efforts on the Veronese shore of the lake, with the goal of creating a unified management framework for the entire Garda basin. «We need to work out», states the president of the Brescia Consortium, Bruno Maramotti, «with the respective provinces and regions, but it finally seems that things are starting to move in the right direction».
Among the projects presented by Garda Uno to the Ecology Commission of the Brescia Province is one relating to surface water cleaning at ports and coastal areas, employing a more rational use of the cleaning boat. A project worth 550 million euros that aims to solve the issues of beach cleaning and those often neglected areas between the paved part and the lake, which nonetheless need to be managed and kept clean.
This issue also concerns the Veronese shore of the lake and must be addressed to improve Garda’s tourist and environmental image and that of its coasts.