Because of the low water level in Lake Constance, the first boats need to be brought in from ports, especially on the west bank. “We have been constantly on the water for 14 days,” said the port captain of the municipality of Moos, in the German district of Constance, Martin Graf. “Actually, we don’t have a boat sitting where it should.” About a third of the boats in the 400 or so berths have been relocated or taken out of the water.
“There are water levels that low from time to time, but usually not at this time of year,” Graf said. Also on the island of Reichenau, the first boat owners were once again stranded before the start of the summer holidays in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria. About 50 of the more than 260 boats in the island’s harbor were pulled out of the water because they would otherwise run aground, said harbor captain Franz Egenhofer. Many owners are upset.
Anyone who has to look for another berth for the boat because of low tide currently has bad cards. “We currently have a lot of boat owners from other ports who have to leave because the draft is no longer sufficient,” said a spokeswoman for Lake Constance’s largest port, the Kressbronn overseas marina. The situation there is not so problematic because the port basin, as an old quarry, is quite deep. “Unfortunately, we are full and we have to decline these requests.”
Close to the lows of 1876 and 1949
By the end of the week, the lake level in Constance was less than 3.30 meters, according to the State Institute for the Environment in Baden-Württemberg. That’s just about four inches from the seasonal record low water. The authority assumes that the previous lowest value for this season of 3.17 meters from the years 1949 and 1876 “will be reached or even fall below” in the summer or fall if little rain continues to fall. (apa, dpa)