No training on the Augsburg ice track. Not on Tuesday. And not on Wednesday either. That’s what it says on the big new scoreboard that was installed for the upcoming World Cup. Not enough water in the Lech – is the canoe world championship in danger now?
As a consequence, too little water in the Lech means too too little water for the canoeists, who actually want to prepare intensively for the World Whitewater Canoe Championships next week on the ice channel. But nothing is currently working, explains Johannes Heiss.
He is seconded as a project manager in the municipal department for sport, culture and world heritage for the implementation of the world championships. “We depend on the Lech. If the Lech has enough water, we can cover the ice channel, i.e. fill it with water,” says Heiss.
How much water is currently running down the Lech?
Ten cubic meters of water would always have to run down the Lech via the Hochablass, which is necessary for the fish, among other things. The rest could then be used for the ice canal and the city canals. It currently looks as if the organizers can work with 25 cubic meters of water in the Lech.
But if that continues to fall drastically, then you would have to readjust and reconsider, says Hot to the BR. A rejection is the very last option that nobody currently has on their list.
On foot in the Augsburg Ice Canal
At the moment, however, the Lech does not carry the necessary amount of water to cover the city streams and the canoe route with water as usual. The result is the winter with little snow and the resulting low water in the Forggensee up to barrage 23 on the Mandichosee, south of Augsburg. And now the canoeists are feeling the effects of this in their preparation for the World Championships: they are running dry.
As Competition Manager, Fabian Dörfler is responsible for running the sporting competitions on the ice track. Even a former canoeist and world champion in 2005, he is currently only on foot. Several times a day, he goose-steps the 300-meter-long route from his office in the finish area along the ice channel to the start.
Organization of the Canoe World Championship is looking for a solution
Now city workers are trying to shut off the parallel city stream and divert the excess water into the competition course. You can tell the tension in Dörfler, so shortly before the start of the World Cup.
The organization of the Canoe World Championships is working flat out to find a solution to the water problem, he says. One is in the process of “placing something so that it works.” We’re talking about concrete partition walls, as you know them from construction sites on the Autobahn.
On-site meeting with Augsburg’s Mayor Eva Weber
Dörfler and Heiss are optimistic that the plan will work and that the World Championships can go ahead as planned. A week before the start of the competition, nobody can be absolutely sure.
Augsburg’s Lord Mayor Eva Weber and the World Cup organizers will provide information on Wednesday at an on-site visit to the Eiskanal whether the acute lack of water on the Lech will endanger the World Championships in the coming week.
Source: Regional news from Swabia 07/20/2022 – 06:30 a.m
