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Bathing island and jetty at the Schongauer Lido: Risks from driftwood to drunks speak against it

2022-06-25T12:13:01.100Z


Bathing island and jetty at the Schongauer Lido: Risks from driftwood to drunks speak against it Created: 06/25/2022, 02:00 p.m By: Elena Siegl At the on-site visit, the city councilors looked at the bathing island and jetty on the Lido and discussed the risks. © Herald Should the bathing island and jetty be reinstalled on the Lido? During an on-site visit, the Schongau city councilors weighed


Bathing island and jetty at the Schongauer Lido: Risks from driftwood to drunks speak against it

Created: 06/25/2022, 02:00 p.m

By: Elena Siegl

At the on-site visit, the city councilors looked at the bathing island and jetty on the Lido and discussed the risks.

© Herald

Should the bathing island and jetty be reinstalled on the Lido?

During an on-site visit, the Schongau city councilors weighed up the risks.

And from the point of view of the administration, there is plenty of that.

Schongau

– The bathing island and jetty were only briefly back in the reservoir last Tuesday afternoon.

Employees from the building yard had heaved the two elements into the Lech especially for a city council meeting so that the committee could get an idea on site for a risk analysis - according to the guidelines of the Bavarian State Ministry of Justice.

Both were then removed again.

A decision was not made.

It will not be decided until the next meeting on June 28th whether the jetty and island should be permanently relocated to the Lido.

Result of a lawyer's opinion

Because of the question of liability, the city council does not take the decision lightly (we reported).

In the event of an accident, the court might or might not hold the city responsible.

The bathing area on the Lech is "given by nature", which is why we are not liable for injuries caused by gravel or plants, for example, explained manager Bettina Schade.

However, this does not apply to the artificially created bathing island and the jetty.

However, it is not foreseeable what measures will have to be taken to ensure safe operation. This is the conclusion reached by a legal opinion commissioned by the city.

Brought the bathing island into the reservoir: building yard workers and firefighters.

© Herald

In the run-up to the meeting, Schade took on the analysis of the entire bathing area and presented the results, but made it clear straight away that the observations made by the administration and the city council were not enough and that some things could only be clarified by experts.

For example, whether a stranger would expect lifeguards to be present.

After all, the Lido has facilities such as changing rooms, toilets, showers and parking space management.

The risk analysis also dealt with the traffic safety of the systems themselves.

Before it was put into operation for the first time, the 2015 test report stated that there were no points above the water surface where swimmers could get caught and, in the worst case, drown - however, movements of the floating elements cannot rule out the possibility of dangerous entrapment points opening and closing, explained Schade.

So far there has not been an underwater test.

According to the current manufacturer recommendations, which have now been requested, this is necessary every week.

Check safety with a dive

According to Schade, the information relates to standing water.

In the case of the Lech, therefore, "a dive should be made immediately after every storm and the underside checked".

You can't do that with your own people.

"The construction yard doesn't have any divers yet." Previously, the elements were viewed by employees twice a week above the water surface.

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In addition, the manufacturer stipulates in its guidelines that a maximum of 25 adults or 50 children may be on the island at the same time.

No diving is allowed under the island.

That too cannot be controlled by the city without bathing supervision, said Schade.

So far, the bathing island has been tested by the TÜV as a boat dock, now, after the BGH ruling of 2017 on the duty of supervision in municipal outdoor pools, it is more strictly as a leisure facility, Thomas Ola added.

Congestion has increased

From the point of view of the administration, the flotsam is particularly dangerous, as it easily gets caught in the anchoring chains of the bathing island.

The bathing island was not designed for this, said Schade, who gave the floor to the city forester Klaus Thien.

According to his observation, traffic jams have increased.

The water level changes several times a day.

Because there is more movement in the Lech, more flotsam is washed up that would have gotten caught on the island in the past.

Once even a spruce peak got caught underneath.

"The danger under the bathing island is not recognizable," said Thien.

Someone jumping off the island could impale themselves on a branch, the mayor said.

Heavy rain events are also a problem

In addition, there are more heavy rain events - "quickly and unforeseen," said Thien.

Sometimes he has to collect people in the forest.

So you should point out at the Lido to pay attention to the weather conditions.

"We don't have a lifeguard who can make an announcement to leave the water," added Mayor Falk Sluyterman.

Parties were regularly held at the boathouse;

one has to reckon with the fact that drunk people want to swim to the bathing island and drown.

"You could say 'your own fault' - but knowing about the users means that we have a residual responsibility," says Sluyterman.

You don't want to take away the fun of bathing from young people

The city council should be exempt from liability, life-threatening traps should be excluded - but this requires the expertise of experts, so Schade, who recommended that such a risk assessment be carried out.

No one has lined up to take away the fun of bathing from young people, and as long as nothing happens, it is certainly nice to have a bathing island and jetty.

However, these come with significant risks.

Voices from the discussion:

After the statements of the manager Bettina Schade, the city council discussed.

Markus Keller (Greens) noted that flotsam accumulates everywhere in the Lech - not just on the island.

And you can get stuck there too.

Even if it sounds paradoxical, the city is not responsible, says Schade.


Keller also pointed out that (drunk) people could not only swim on the bathing island, but also on the Lech raft, which is anchored a few meters away.

He's already observed that.

"We're going to have to rethink that," Sluyterman said.

However, a raft has a completely different function and does not invite you to swim there.


Marianne Porsche-Rohrer (CSU) brought the Schongau diving club into play, which could possibly take over the underwater control.

The mayor doubted that volunteers would be found.

There shouldn't be any costs, after all there is also the Plansch with many attractions, where a deficit of one million euros has to be settled every year.


Bettina Buresch (Greens) was surprised at the many new arguments.

"Where do you start, where do you stop?" You have the impression that "it's getting out of hand".

For example, in the course of the triathlon, access to the Lech was created near the festival site, which is also used by campers.

Shouldn't that be blocked too?

No, said the mayor.

You have a right to access to water.

It's just about the extent to which you create a magnetic effect.


Kornelia Funke (CSU) was at various Bavarian bathing lakes during the Pentecost holidays.

Sometimes the jetty was blocked off with a lattice and could only be used when the lifeguard was present, sometimes the island was completely removed.

However, she also talked to fire brigade commander Werner Berchtold, who had come across an article in the Fürstenfeldbrucker Tagblatt on the Internet: In the Pucher Meer, the bathing island - comparable to the Schongauer - was let back into the water.

Signs indicate danger spots.

And the statutes became house rules.


Gregor Schuppe (ALS) was annoyed that it was only about the "worst-case" scenario.

He spoke out in favor of having an expert report drawn up and not making a decision based on suspicion.

Thomas Schleich (UWV) also demanded a clean finish.

"For me it makes a huge difference whether the bathing island has to be checked once a week or several times a day."


The risk assessment would probably cost around 4000 to 5000 euros, said Ilona Böse (SPD) when asked.

The city councilor thought it was too much to screw up.

It would be better to upgrade a playground for that.

Even if she regretted the possible end of the bathing island and jetty: "Unfortunately, personal responsibility is negated.

That makes it harder for us.

It's the law."


Before the meeting, he still thought, "both belong in it," said Martin Schwarz (SPD).

After the discussion, things looked different: "The bathing island is dead for me.

But I wouldn't like to give up the jetty as well.” You can't dive under it anyway and it's easier to control it.


Many Schongauers considered the blue facilities in the green Lech to be aesthetically unsuccessful anyway.

Perhaps the loss is not so great and the renaturation can be seen as an advantage, says city architect Sebastian Dietrich.


Last but not least, the former deputy mayor Tobias Kalbitzer spoke after the mayor had declared that he now wanted to talk to the audience.

According to Kalbitzer, there can be no question of a “natural bathing area”.

"On one side the raft, on the other the dam - all man-made", but the only thing that bothers you is the bathing island and jetty.

The raft invites you to swim across, as visitors to the Lido can easily observe.

And Kalbitzer jumped into the breach for the young citizens: “They don’t go into the water drunk at boathouse parties.

Because they dress well to party and don't even have a towel with them."

By the way: Everything from the region is now also available in our regular Schongau newsletter.

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2022-06-25

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