Because of high temperatures: yellow traffic light for the location of water bodies in the district

Created: 06/08/2022, 18:00

By: Felicitas Bogner

A few days ago, the Steinbach in Bichl was just a small puddle.

© Palm

The current high water temperature is causing problems for fish.

Smaller streams in the district have partially dried up.

Fishing associations give an assessment:

Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen –

It really is a hot summer.

In addition to bathing fun, eating ice cream and the like, the current temperatures also have some downsides.

The consequences of the heat in combination with few rainy days mean for bodies of water: low groundwater levels, drying out streams and fish kills.

"The situation in Upper Bavaria's waters is serious," the district of Upper Bavaria issued in a statement.

The areas north and west of Munich are particularly affected.

But traces of the drought can also be seen in the Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen district.

Bad Heilbrunn: Bach in Oberbuchen has already dried up

The first smaller streams were or have already dried up.

For example in the Oberbuchen district of Heilbrunn.

The three children Christoph, Luzia and Theresa recently rescued crabs and fish there and released them in the creek in Ramsau, as reported by mother Angelika Annaberger.

No other picture emerges from the Steinbach in Bichl.

"The creek bed has dried up like we've never seen it before," says reader Stefan Palme, who took photos there.

At the same time, Günter Schön sent pictures with the same motifs from the Rettenbach in Benediktbeuern.

When asked by our newspaper, Nikolaus Schöfmann, representative of the Upper Bavaria Fishing Association in Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen, explains: "The general situation of the streams is tense, but not yet dramatic." If there are a few rainy days, in his opinion "everything is back in balance". , he says.

As reported by the local fishing associations, "for example, the water level of Lake Fiechtner in Königsdorf has dropped hereditarily".

We're talking about half a meter.

Königsdorf: the water level of the Fiechtner See has dropped

The temperature in the lake is currently “borderline high”.

For white fish such as carp, this is not a problem up to 25 degrees.

"They are not that sensitive to temperature, but anything over 25 degrees becomes dangerous for these fish," explains Schöfmann.

Trout, on the other hand, would be in a life-threatening situation even at the current temperatures.

The high water temperatures in the waters put cold-loving fish species, such as salmonids such as brown trout, grayling or huchen, according to Tobias Oberlechner, water manager at the Lenggries Fishermen's Association, "in stressful situations".

The fish would also react accordingly to the rising temperatures: "They look for cool spots, such as groundwater sources on the ground, and then stay there," reports Schöfmann.

It is therefore dangerous

when people jump into the pools in this heat.

"There are currently a lot of fish there because the pools are known to be very cold."

In order not to increase the stress for the aquatic animals even more, it is important that there is no fishing at the moment.

"But hardly any fisherman comes up with the idea in the heat, since the chances of success are not high anyway." Because: "Due to the warm water temperatures, fish have little appetite and therefore do not bite," explains Schöfmann.

Fish under stress: no fishing should be done at the moment

According to Oberlechner, the Isar currently has enough water in Lenggries, which is due to the regulation by the Sylvenstein reservoir.

It is currently delivering a constant 14 cubic meters of water per second to the Isar.

But because only eight cubic meters per second flow in, the lake level has been sinking slowly for a long time.

On Friday afternoon, however, it was only 2.70 meters below the normal summer level.

"The low water situation in the Isar tributaries is very tense due to the weather," says Oberlechner.

"Some streams currently have no water in places, but this happens again and again during such dry periods."

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Another danger for fish is currently not only the high temperatures, but also the fact that so-called fish traps can form.

These are areas that are separated from the main water and can heat up too much or dry out.

According to the Lenggrieser water warden, such fish traps are sometimes unwittingly brought about by bathers.

“By building small dams, for example.

These should be opened again and again so that a connection to the main water is guaranteed,” he advises.

Despite the tense situation, Schöfmann and Oberlechner unanimously reassure everyone with the same assessment: Overall, water technology is better here on the northern edge of the Alps than in other regions of Bavaria.

"I would currently assign the traffic light color yellow for our waters," concludes Oberlechner.

You can find more current news from the region around Bad Tölz at Merkur.de/Bad Tölz.