Attersee lake faces critical low water levels

The Attersee lake could reach an ecologically critical low-water level within weeks because of persistent drought, ORF reported on Thursday. Upper Austria’s water authority has therefore ordered a temporary change to operations at the Klauswehr weir.

From now on, the outflow from the lake into the Ager river will be reduced to 4.5 cubic metres per second, regional councillor Stefan Kaineder said. The measure is intended to slow the lake’s decline while preserving enough water to support a healthy ecosystem in the Ager.

Measurements showed that the Attersee’s water level fell from 100 centimetres on August 5 to 96 centimetres on August 12, a drop of about four centimetres in one week.

About 2.4 cubic metres of water per second are currently flowing into the lake, while nearly 6.9 cubic metres per second are being released. Without sufficient rain, the lake is therefore losing more water each day than it receives, Kaineder said.

After obtaining expert assessments, the water authority ordered the reduction at the Klauswehr with immediate effect. The measure is expected to slow the lake’s decline by about half in the coming days.