Brescia Water Authority Calls for Reform of Lake Garda Water Regulation
Last June, a meeting was held in the Province, attended by the assessor Pilati, the mayors of Peschiera and Sirmione, representatives from the Provinces of Brescia, Mantova, and Trento, the Po Basin Authorities, the Magistrate for the Po River, and the Verona Operational Unit of the Venice Water Magistracy. This meeting led to the development of a common text aimed at proposing a first step to exit the institutional chaos in which the matter is currently situated.
Changes in Hydraulic Policies and Operational Requests
“Compared to 1951, the year of the construction of the Salionze dam, socio-economic, hydraulic, and environmental conditions have changed so much that they now require profound modifications in the regulation criteria of the lake’s waters, better safeguarding the expectations of the lakeside municipalities,” explains Pilati.
“In our letter to the ministry, we asked to transform into an operational rule sanctioned by decree and enforceable by the operator, the vote no. 55 of 1965, from the IV section of the Ministry of Public Works, which identifies the maximum upper limit of lake waters as ‘0.70 meters on the Peschiera hydrometer during the autumn period.
We also requested a new management system for the levels of Lake Garda’s waters and the reactivation, with a requirement for consultation, of the Commission for the Regulation of Water Levels, which was inexplicably disbanded and is no longer convened,” adds the assessor.
Results and Proposal for Reconfiguring the Commission
In its response, the ministry acknowledges that “the Commission had worked profitably, even intervening during critical periods with its resolutions, and in this perspective, a technical committee could be activated, including, besides representatives of the interested Provinces, those of the Water Magistrates and the Po River Magistracy, the Po Basin Authority, the Navigation Office, and the Water Users’ Associations deriving from the Salionze structure, as well as an expert in macrophytes.”
“First of all, I must emphasize that never before have entities historically in conflict sat around a table to reach an agreement regarding the proposal to reactivate the Water Level Regulation Commission. And I add that finally we have received a ministerial response on an issue concerning our territory,” clarifies Pilati.
The Importance of Ministerial Intervention and Ecological Issues
“Ministerial intervention is important,” emphasizes the assessor, “because it returns decision-making power to the local territory regarding water levels and emphasizes that considerations should not only involve hydraulic issues related to irrigation basins but also ecological concerns, particularly regarding the delicate lake ecosystem and lakeside communities.”
“In particular, ecological considerations are crucial,” specifies Luigi Sansoni, a biology graduate and official of the Water Sector at the Ecology Department, “because the proliferation of macrophytes is linked to the constant maintenance of the lake’s level via the Salionze dam, which causes a buildup of nutrients that allow for the abnormal proliferation of this aquatic flora.”
“This is a significant achievement that I have pursued since the beginning of my term, with the collaboration of Dr. Sansoni,” adds Pilati, “and the next step will be a formal request to the Magistrato alle Acque di Venezia, so that, after updating the list of entities authorized to participate, as per the Ministry’s instructions, the technical commission for water level regulation exercises can be convened.”
The issues started to emerge when this Commission was no longer convened or consulted, but now we want it to become an operational forum to work on avoiding past damages and further disasters.”
Vittorio Zambaldo