Low water disrupts Lake Constance shipping and forces boats ashore

Falling water levels are disrupting shipping on Lake Constance, with some scheduled and sightseeing vessels no longer able to reach their stops, ORF Vorarlberg reported. Many private boat owners are also taking their vessels out of the water earlier than planned.

The lake level is currently dropping by about two centimetres a day. Vorarlberg Lines managing director Alexandro Rupp told ORF Vorarlberg that scheduled vessels have been unable to enter the harbour at Langenargen on the German shore since this week.

For sightseeing vessels, the landing stage at Lochau has also been taken out of service. All other harbours and landing stages on the Bregenz-Lindau-Meersburg-Konstanz route remain accessible, Rupp said, although there may be restrictions for users of electric wheelchairs at some stops.

The water level in Bregenz Bay stood at 281 centimetres on Thursday, the lowest value recorded at this time of year since measurements began in 1864. The port of Bregenz can still be reached without difficulty, Rupp said. Services from Bregenz to Konstanz, Meersburg and Mainau Island, as well as event and sightseeing trips from the port, are operating normally. The situation is being monitored continuously.

Smaller harbours are already facing greater difficulties. At the Wetterwinkel yacht club in Gaißau on the Old Rhine, some boats are staying in place without mooring lines because they are resting on the mud, club chairman Felix Schwärzler said.

The club will take 14 sailing boats out of the water on Friday. Their keels give them a draught of about 1.60 metres. Motorboats have a draught of between 60 and 80 centimetres, while the current water depth is about one metre, Schwärzler said. Further falling levels could therefore also make conditions critical for motorboats.

In Fußach Bay, a narrow navigation channel provides access to the local harbours and is regularly dredged. It recently had to be cleared of aquatic vegetation that has been growing particularly strongly this year. About three tonnes of vegetation were removed from the lake, said Roland Schwendinger, harbour master of the Motorboot-Segelsportverein Schwedenschanze.

Some sailing boats can still reach the harbour, but owners must calculate carefully. One boat has a draught of 1.80 metres while the water depth is currently about 2.10 metres. If the level continues to fall at the same rate for another week, the boat may have to be taken out of the water, the report said. Some owners have already moved their boats to other harbours, which are helping one another.