Garda Lake Bathing Water Quality Updates and Tourist Guidance 2001

SOMMER SERVICE and Environmental Secretary to inform about the quality of bathing waters. Also for the summer season of 2001, the ADAC/Sommer Service operates again on the lake, an initiative aimed at providing, particularly to German guests, accurate information on the quality of bathing waters.

Sommer Service began in early June with the arrival on Lake Garda of a biologist appointed by the Institut für Hydrobiologie Konstanz (Institute of Hydrobiology of Constance) on behalf of the ADAC — the prestigious German Automobile Club which has over 14 million members — to process, taking into account the limits set by European Union regulations, the data collected thanks to the diligent collaboration of the Public Hygiene Offices of Local Health Authorities, of ARPAV in Verona, the Public Health Laboratory of ASL Brescia, the Health Authority of the Autonomous Province of Trento, as well as meteorological services from the Veneto Region, the Province of Brescia, and the Agenzia Provinciale per la Protezione dell’Ambiente della Provincia Autonoma di Trento – Institut für Hydrobiologie Riva del Garda – and to prepare updated informational bulletins that the ADAC disseminates via telephone, press, and the Internet.

Environmental and Tourist Secretariat Service

But for those already on the lake or for Italian tourists, the Environmental and Tourist Secretariat Service is operational, providing weather information, guidance on accommodation, infrastructure, sporting and recreational activities, and cultural and entertainment events organized in the various lake villages.

This service can be accessed by calling the Garda Community headquarters (0365 290411) or consulting the website www.lagodigarda.it, which is continually updated. The service, initiated by the Garda Community to ensure correct and prompt information for tourists visiting the Garda area, is supported by the Ente Nazionale Italiano per il Turismo, the Lombardy and Veneto Regions, and the Autonomous Province of Trento – APT del Garda Trentino.

Regulations on bathing waters

Finally, regarding bathing waters, it is appropriate to note that thanks to the efforts of the Community and the Garda parliamentarians, a recent Decree Law allows Regions to derogate from the limit values of dissolved oxygen, one of the many parameters used to determine whether a beach is suitable for bathing or not.