Lake Garda Management Reforms: New Efforts for Dam Regulation and Safety
A commission for regulating the levels of Lake Garda has been established within the framework of the Autorità di Bacino del fiume Po (Po River Basin Authority). This time, it is unlikely to be yet another roundtable that fails to make decisions. This is assured by the regional assessor for public works Massimo Giorgetti, who is engaged in an attempt to organize the complex system of responsibilities overseeing Italy’s largest lake.
In particular, for the representative of Palazzo Balbi, the challenge involves managing the Salionze dam, which holds strategic importance for the entire Benàco basin. It is known that the fate of Garda is interconnected with that of the Adige and Po rivers, the three lakes of Mantova, and the Fissero Tartaro waterway.
To the north, additionally, the Benàco receives water from the Sarca River and from as many as 11 hydroelectric plants connected to this tributary. The Mori-Torbole spillway, meanwhile, allows under necessity to discharge water from the Adige into Garda. The management of the entire system linked to Garda depends on five entities: the Magistrato alle Acque (Water Magistracy) of Venice, the Magistrato alle Acque for the Po, the autonomous provinces of Trento and Bolzano, and the Mincio Consortium.
Enel (Electricity Company) can also intervene independently. It is clear that in this regime of interconnected reservoirs, the Salionze dam assumes a primary and indispensable role in maintaining Garda’s levels, as well as in the economy of coastal populations, water use of the Mincio for irrigation and industrial purposes, and flood protection for the Mincio.
Management issues and proposed solutions
“The current management structure involves interference, and often conflict, from peripheral offices of the Water Magistracy and the Magistracy for the Po, which does not favor optimal and coordinated operation of the dam,” states regional assessor Giorgetti. “A clear example was last November, when flash levels of Garda were reached that had never been recorded before.” All this happened without the managers of the Salionze dam being able to provide a unified and satisfactory response.
This shifting of responsibilities has irritated, and not a little, the mayors and ordinary citizens of the lake basin, who are incredulous at such superficiality. Now, with the dust settled, Giorgetti believes it is time to find a solution that allows for the necessary promptness in case of new emergency situations.
Thus, a request has been made to the Ministry of Public Works, through the committee of the Po River Basin Authority, to assign the responsibilities of management, regulation, and maintenance of the Salionze dam to the Magistrato del Po and, in perspective, to the upcoming Interregional Agency.
The proposal, adopted at the end of January by the Basin Authority, led to the establishment of a commission tasked with examining the current management method of Lake Garda, especially regarding how it affects the lake levels, water quality, and the proliferation of macroalgae.
The commission, composed of representatives from all involved institutional entities, will also focus on the use of water resources by valley populations, flood control of the Sarca tributary, hydraulic safety of the city of Mantova, and the impact on the hydrological regime of the Po River, as well as interconnections during floods with the Adige and Fissero Tartaro basins.
Once the issues are thoroughly analyzed, the commission’s task will be to suggest, where rules are inadequate, potential modifications aimed at overcoming the problems.