Valais authorities clarify extent of fish kill in Dranse
Published: Friday, Mar 22nd 2024, 18:20
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Following the authorized emptying of the Lac de Les Toules reservoir in Lower Valais around two weeks ago, there are fears of a major fish kill in the Dranse. The authorities are currently catching fish along the entire course of the river using electric fishing equipment to assess the extent of the damage.
The results of Thursday's census in five sections of the Dranse will be announced in the coming days, the Valais Department of Hunting, Fishing and Wildlife told the Keystone-SDA news agency on Friday. An additional count further downstream is planned for the end of March.
After the reservoir was emptied from March 4 to 6, the Dranse d'Entremont, as the upper section of the river is known, filled up with silt and rock deposits. As a result, many fish were deprived of oxygen and died. The authorized emptying was carried out for safety reasons and is intended to allow the valve to be used during floods.
Sand content of 98 percent
The legal limits for sand concentration in the water were clearly exceeded. The loss of fish in the Dranse "will be considerable", James Derivaz, head of the company Dransenergie and a hobby fisherman, admitted to Keystone-SDA. The company was commissioned by the owners of the power plant, the Forces Motrices du Grand St-Bernard, to empty the river.
The president of the local fishermen's association, Julien Moulin, shared the observation about the fish death: "We have been observing the river for several days and see no more life in it. We have measured a sand content of 98 percent in some places, no fish can survive that," he said.
Owners must pay
The owners of the power plant must bear all costs in connection with the emptying. They must compensate for the loss of fish stock, which was estimated at around CHF 80,000 during the last emptying with a similar process in 2010.
The Valais Environmental Agency is investigating the situation. It will forward the case to the public prosecutor's office if it comes to the conclusion that there has been a violation of the cantonal water protection law, it said.
©Keystone/SDA
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