Experts worried: Low water in Lake Constance is becoming more and more frequent
Created: 08/11/2022 13:14
By: Sina Alonso Garcia
The Lake Constance level is currently well below the value that is usual for the current time of year.
Experts are alarmed by the increasing heatwaves.
Constance - While the weather in Germany is currently giving us one heat record after the next, nature is increasingly suffering from the high temperatures.
The water levels in local lakes are currently at a low point.
The level of Lake Constance near Constance is currently around 90 centimeters below the usual value for this time of year.
On August 8, a water level of just 316 centimeters of water was measured, as reported by BW24.
The last time it was less was in 2003, according to the Baden-Württemberg State Institute for the Environment.
Experts have been watching the falling water levels with concern for 30 years.
The head of the Lake Research Institute in Langenargen, Harald Hetzenauer, fears that the problem will worsen in the coming years.
As the researcher explained to the
SWR
, the heat will probably continue to lead to low water on Lake Constance in the future.
This has sometimes fatal consequences for the animal and plant world as well as for shipping.
Low water in Lake Constance: boats are dry
The low water in Lake Constance is already becoming a problem for boat owners.
For example, the current water level at the Untersee is not sufficient for boats to dock there.
In Gaienhofen (Konstanz district), 30 boat owners recently had to bring their ships ashore, as reported by harbor master Christof Stier when asked by
SWR
.
Several boats are stranded in Moos harbor because the water level in Lake Constance is low.
© Felix Kästle/dpa
According to experts, the reason for the water levels falling year after year is that less snow falls in the Alps in winter.
"As a result, less meltwater flows over the Alpine Rhine into Lake Constance or the meltwater comes too early," explains lake researcher Harald Hetzenauer.
"As a result, the actually high water levels are no longer reached in summer."
Low water in Lake Constance: only rain could remedy the situation
The fact that the boats are already dry on the Untersee also alarms boat owners on the upper Lake Constance.
Harbor master Volker Herentrey fears: "If the lake water recedes ten to 15 centimeters, that's the end for us too." Some boats from the lower lake have already been brought to ports on the upper lake.
But here, too, a record low level could soon be imminent.
Only rain could remedy this situation.
However, this is currently not predicted.
Bad news for boat owners.
