Garda Water Quality Upgrades as SommerService Concludes Operations

SommerService 2000, the environmental information service organized by Comunità del Garda with the support of Enit, Lombardia and Veneto Regions, Autonomous Province of Trento, and collaborating with the German Automobile Club (Adac), has recently concluded its activity with a positive outlook.

For the second consecutive year, it has reported a significant improvement in the water quality of Garda.

Adac, as every year, sent a biologist from the Institut für Hydrobiologie in Konstanz to Garda, tasked with coordinating information on the health status of Garda’s waters.

The Comunità del Garda also served as the endpoint for controls carried out by Regional Environmental Protection Agencies, laboratories specializing in biotoxicology, and institutions from the Provinces of Brescia, Verona, and Trento, which provided the Community with data necessary to prepare the weekly report.

The report, adjusted according to European limits, was distributed in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.

Current situation and environmental issues

Following a positive season closure, the hope is to further improve the water quality of Garda.

Constant monitoring allows for a comprehensive and up-to-date picture of the situation.

This means that any degenerative phenomena affecting the lake environment can be promptly identified and contained.

However, issues such as the infamous grattarola, which sporadically appears in the Lower Garda, and the rampant growth of algae, still need to be addressed.

Resource management and legislative challenges

But these are not the only Garda issues awaiting resolution: there is a lack of clarity regarding water level management and jurisdiction; not to mention the demanial strips, port management, and navigation laws.

Only Lombardia has so far issued legislation on port management, and already the Municipalities of Desenzano and Salo have announced calls for applications for berths, which will be managed by the two municipalities.

On the Veronese shore, however, nothing is happening, as no guidance has arrived from Venice, leaving locals to improvise.

The new navigation law is delayed, and meanwhile, a law from twenty years ago is still in effect.

Navigation restrictions and local regulations

There are, however, some exceptions: the Trentino region has prohibited motorized boats in its waters for several years, excluding passenger ships, rescue vessels, law enforcement, and boats with special permits.

In the rest of Garda, this restriction does not apply.