Lake Garda Water Levels Rise Amid Controversy Over Management and Dam Discharges
The water level of Lake Garda is rising again: the Salionze dam recently reduced its outflow.
Controversy over water level management
Once again, controversy erupts along the Venetian Riviera regarding water level management.
The mayor of Garda, Giorgio Comencini, ignited the debate in a letter sent to the Verona prefecture, the Veneto Region, the Po Basin Authority, and all the mayors of the Verona Riviera, targeting the head of the Operational Unit of the Magistrate of Waters of Mantova.
According to Comencini, “he demonstrates to be the absolute and sole master of Lake Garda.” But why such fervor? Everything originates from a letter dated February 26th, signed by the chief engineer of the Verona Operational Unit of the Magistrate of Waters.
In his letter, the Verona official, responsible for the Salionze dam, states that he had decided to keep the discharge into the Mincio at 77.5 cubic meters per second.
A fax received from the Operative Unit of Mantova ordered him to reduce the flow from Garda to just 30 cubic meters per second “due to unavoidable extraordinary maintenance works.”
The engineer from the Verona Operational Unit then indicated that he considers “the issue of the lake level of Garda deserving of urgent technical and scientific analysis.”
However, on February 27th, Mantova responded with a refusal to convene the assembly, deeming it “unjustified.” The head of Mantova’s operational unit reiterated that “the authorized reduction is motivated by the need to maintain the canals of the consortium, which is common at this time of year in preparation for the irrigation season.”
After receiving a copy of Mantova’s response, Comencini took pen and paper to criticize how the current system regulating the flow of Garda water along the Mincio causes ongoing disruptions along the Riviera:
“If an example is needed,” writes the mayor of Garda, “my town had scheduled, precisely and for obvious reasons, a major maintenance of the sewers during the winter period, which has not been possible so far due to the lake level remaining above one hundred centimeters.”
The Garda level remains high, and this situation continues to cause some headaches for the local authorities along the Riviera, who are also occupied with repairing damages caused by the prolonged high water levels in November and December.
As is remembered, the water flooded lakeside roads and squares in virtually all the towns along both the Venetian and Lombard shores.
Meanwhile, the tourist season is approaching, with the lake paying the price for the understandable irrigation needs of the Mantova province, which isn’t the best impression for the Benacus tour operators.
“When will there be legitimate involvement of the riviera municipalities in managing the lake level?” asks the mayor of Garda in his letter.