Lake Garda Foam: Environmental Efforts and Community Engagement

The tourist season has started and, for now—fingers crossed—the surface of the lake appears in its best condition: the yellowish, horrible foams seen in Porto Catena have not yet appeared.

Fortunately, because the barriers tested last year in front of the Power Plant have also been (temporarily) removed, which has been the only effective measure so far in containing the spread of the phenomenon.

The level of vigilance must remain high, because the algae in Ledro—centrifuged and broken down by the turbines of the hydroelectric plant into the harmless but disgusting milky sludge that dirties Lake Garda—are a problem that, as this newspaper has always argued, has severely negative repercussions on Riva’s tourist image.

Awareness initiatives and in-depth meetings

A shared concern by the municipal administration and environmental protection agencies of the Province. They have thus promoted and organized an evening dedicated to the theme “Evolution of the foam phenomenon, what solution?”, which will be held next Wednesday, June 20, at 6:30 PM at the Villino Campi, recently renamed Centro d’Eccellenza della Rete Trentina di Educazione Ambientale.

The event, open to all citizens, is mainly aimed at those wanting to understand and explore the issues related to the lake, especially tourism operators and all associations involved in the protection of Garda.

Among the speakers will be the municipal environment councilor Luigi Marino, who will explain the collaborations the Municipality has implemented to prevent the recurrence of the phenomenon; Dr. Chiara Defrancesco, director of the Unità Organizzativa Qualità dell’Ambiente of the Agency for Environmental Protection, who will discuss an analysis of phytoplankton trends in Lake Ledro; and representatives from Enel, Massimiliano Spinato and Gino Matteucci, who will provide historical context on the Riva del Garda power plant and share their analyses of the foam phenomenon.