Lake Garda Water Levels Regulation: Challenges and Delays
The commission for the regulation of Lake Garda’s water levels met in Parma, at the headquarters of the Autorità di bacino del fiume Po. The working group — composed of representatives from the Ministero dei Lavori pubblici, the Autorità di bacino del fiume Adige, the Regions of Lombardia and Veneto, the Autonomous Province of Trento, the Provinces of Verona, Brescia, and Mantova, as well as one representative for the municipalities along the Veronese shores and one for those in Brescia — also included Senator Umberto Chincarini, acting as a representative of the mayors of the Scaligeri.
Goals and Causes of Delays
“The commission’s task,” writes Honorable a member of the Lega Nord and Deputy Mayor of Peschiera, to the mayors of the Riviera degli Olivi, “is to identify scenarios and possible technical solutions, gathering basic data and information related to irrigation uses in terms of concessions, irrigable surfaces, and the existence of any sub-concessions.”
“However, the results achieved so far are limited,” admits the senator, who attributes the slow progress to Engineer Gaetano Quarta, head of the Nucleo operativo del Magistrato alle acque di Mantova.
The director, who was heavily criticized last autumn during the flooding that devastated several towns along the river, for which the same Honorable had requested his removal in March through a parliamentary question addressed to the Ministers of Justice and Grace, Interior, and Environment.
Criticisms and Current Situation
“Quarta denies the evidence, intervenes at length, and suffers from the presence of people he considers incompetents at Commission meetings,” Chincarini remarks, surprised by the inability of the relevant authorities to provide a clear and linear overview of the various concessions.
“It’s absurd, but at present, after numerous discussions, we have only confirmed that the only definitive concessions are those granted to Enel, dating back to 1933. As of now, nothing more is known.”
“Basically,” explains the Honorable from Casa delle Libertà, “we cannot have a complete list of the water users for Garda, given the presence of multiple sub-concessions of which trace has been lost.” A paradoxical situation that raises concerns about the management of the entire Garda system, interconnected with the Adige, the Po, the three lakes of Mantova, the Sarca, hydroelectric facilities, and the Fissero Tartaro waterway.
All of this remains subject to control and opinions from as many as ten different entities, even though the recent implementing measures of the Bassanini Law have transferred responsibilities concerning water estate and soil protection to the Regione Lombardia and Veneto.
Among many uncertainties, the Commission has nonetheless established a temporary rule: the autumn maximum water level of Italy’s largest lake must not exceed 90 centimeters above the hydrometric zero of Peschiera. An unofficial limit already in effect for some time, but often ignored, as evidenced by the late 2000s flooding.
The next meeting of the Commission, scheduled for October 8th, will instead have to determine how many cubic meters of water should be released from Garda to meet the actual irrigation needs of the Mantova province concessions.
