And no, it's not because of the drought, even though the fine weather is frequent, nor is it due to excessive water consumption that the lake is so low... Every winter, the level of Lake Geneva is lowered by up to 50 centimetres, in anticipation of the arrival of large volumes of water caused by the melting snow and the high floods in the spring. But it's true that in this year of 2020, the water level is much lower than usual, and that's not just an impression! Every four years, during each leap year, the water level is lowered by a further 20 centimetres to allow the banks to be maintained. Lake Geneva has been rising since mid-April, reaching its summer level in early June.
For centuries, flooding on the shores of Lake Geneva was a frequent occurrence, prompting the inhabitants to seek to control the level of the lake. In 1884, an inter-cantonal agreement was signed between the cantons of Valais, Vaud and Geneva to protect the area around the lake from such incidents. The Coulouvrenière power station and the Pont de la Machine dam provided this regulation until 1995. Then, worn out by 100 years of daily regulation, the Seujet dam, downstream of the Mont-Blanc bridge in Geneva, replaced these structures and became the new spigot of Lake Geneva.
Information taken from the websites :
Cercle de la Voile de Moratel-Cully, " Lake level ",
Société Internationale de Sauvetage du Léman, Les dossiers techniques de la SISL, " Lake Geneva breathes ".
Photo credit: ©Société Internationale de Sauvetage du Léman
