Swimming in the lake

All around the lake we find beaches with treelined meadows, banks with the characteristic black volcanic sand, some with pebbles or stones. They are ideal for every bather large or small, because of the way the shore shelves gradually into the water.

What is the quality of the water?

It is excellent almost everywhere, according to the findings of ARPA (Agenzia Regionale Protezione Ambientale del Lazio), the body responsible for the monitoring and control of water quality.

In recent years, thanks to great efforts to repair the circumlacual sewage system, reality is approaching this evaluation even if some criticalities still remain, detected by the sampling of the Goletta dei Laghi of the environmentalist association Legambiente, and the observations of various citizens.

Are ARPA’s findings reliable?

They are reliable, as are those of Legambiente. The problem is that for economic reasons ARPA takes too few readings (one per month) and in too few places. For an in-depth discussion see here.

An example is that of the beautiful 2-mile long beach at Capodimonte, which has only one sampling point far from the main bathing area.

What are the causes of the problem?

The major cause is the defective waste water collecting system, which also causes eutrophication of the lake.

In the first place, there are shortcomings in the municipal sewer networks: in all the councils we know that sewerage is being dumped into ditches, in some communes into white water pipelines. Pollution reaches the beaches through ditches and rainwater drains, especially after summer downpours.

There are camping sites, bars and restaurants that illegally dump their waste water into the lake, and there is also the ‘offshore’ discharge of tourist boats and the pollution that spreads from their mooring areas (often illegal) contributes to the problem.

Is the problem insurmountable?

No, and indeed, slowly, the councils in collaboration with Talete and BLEU have been working to resolve the problem. We have begun to verify the functionality of the municipal networks and to control  illegal discharges into the ditches, into the white water pipelines and into the lake.

What can we do?

Collaborate with us in our project “ditches and sources”. Inform, signal abuses and insist that the administration intervene. Protect your own health by avoiding swimming in possibly polluted places, e.g. near drains especially on days after summer storms.