South Tyrol’s Guidelines For Water Use For Snowmaking Updated

Guidelines for water use for snowmaking updated – bureaucratic process simplified.

For bodies of water used for artificial snowmaking, guidelines date back to 2005. These have now been revised and approved by the state government on August 19th at the suggestion of Peter Brunner, the State Councilor for Environment, Nature Conservation, and Climate Protection. "This takes into account the advances in artificial snowmaking and simplifies the bureaucratic process," the State Councilor emphasized. Existing snowmaking systems must be adapted to the new regulations by the end of the year.

A water concession must be obtained for the construction of a new facility or the modification of an existing facility for the production of artificial snow. In the future, the quality requirements for the water concession will only need to be reviewed during the discharge period. This also applies to storage reservoirs.

Three water analyses must also be obtained, which will be carried out upon request by the laboratories of the State Agency for the Environment and Climate Protection. Sampling must be carried out during the discharge period and spaced so that it is representative of the specified period. The laboratory's suitability assessment will be abolished and replaced by the declaration of conformity on the analysis report.

The microbiological and chemical quality of the water is examined. The chemical parameters have now been limited to those that may indicate water contamination. If violations are caused by natural rock formation, higher values ​​may be permitted in the declaration of compliance. This exception does not apply to water used in drinking water protection areas.