Lake Garda Diving Regulations Updated After 18 Years
The farewell to the support boat for divers who plunge into Lake Garda from the shoreline, thanks to the regulation discussed and approved a few days ago by the Consiglio provinciale del Trentino Alto Adige.
The news of an imminent regulatory change had been anticipated for many years by athletes and enthusiasts of lake diving, who so far were “forced” to contend with the necessity of always having, in addition to a buoy marking their position, the accompanying support boat near the diving site.
A law, the current one governing Lake Garda, probably unique in Italy since it regulates the lake’s public domain and navigation within a basin bordering three different regions: Veneto, Lombardy, and Trentino Alto Adige.
History of regulations and policies
In 1983, the regional councils of Veneto and Lombardy and the provincial council of Trentino jointly enacted laws number 52 of November 2 in Veneto, number 36 of October 31 in Trentino, and finally number 74 of September 14 in Lombardy.
Until now, these three regulations governed all matters related to navigation and the lake’s public domain, including scuba diving activities.
One regulation mandated that divers must signal their presence with a buoy marked with a red flag, and always be assisted by a “support unit,” i.e., a boat.
Despite repeated appeals from divers, sports clubs, and others opposing the requirement to have a support vessel during dives, nothing had changed so far.
The path toward regulatory update
Moreover, although Veneto and Lombardy had already amended their laws in 1989 and 1994 respectively, removing this obligation, they lacked the approval of the Trentino Alto Adige region, which until a few days ago had not yet addressed updating the regulation.
Without an agreement among the three regions, the 1983 regulation remained in effect by default.
Finally, on September 28, the regional councilor for public works and soil defense Massimo Giorgetti, of Alleanza Nazionale, also made a public appearance or, perhaps better said… in the water.
In a letter addressed to President of the Trento Regional Government Lorenzo Dellai, the president of the same provincial council, and the Trentino regional group leaders, he urged “the urgency of passing the new law regulating navigation on Garda,” to “respond to the legitimate expectations of tourists and sports enthusiasts who, for too long now, have been waiting for regulatory updates.”
Now, just over a month after that written appeal, and more significantly, 18 years after the law came into force and 12 years after the first amendment, it seems the long-awaited change is finally here.
“Undoubtedly,” commented Massimo Giorgetti upon hearing of the regulatory update from the Trentino provincial council, “it is a success that all divers can celebrate and a goal finally achieved. However, we still need to wait until everything is published in the official Trentino bulletin.”
Only then will the new regulation be truly in effect. Additionally, the regional councilor also warned that “after publication in the Trentino Bulletin, the Veneto Region will issue a kind of explanatory circular to avoid ambiguous or confusing interpretations of the new rule.”
Subsequently, an institutional discussion and consultation with sports and diving associations involved in the matter will be held to examine the possibility of implementing, in particularly hazardous cases, additional safety measures, such as regulations for dives in coastal areas traversed by motorboats or speedboats.
Anyway, it now seems that divers will have to wait very little to dive without an support boat, as has long been the case in marine waters.
