Water Governance in the Context of IWRM: Chile - Climate Change and Water Governance: Adaptive Capacity in Chile and Switzerland - page 155

where traditional irrigation is not possible from the end of July onwards. For
example, there are a number of communes (Bralanch, Gutthed, Faessil) above
Leuk that in 2003 could not maintain irrigation from the end of July after a
snow-poor winter, halting the second growth of grass for hay making due to lack
of water in the streams.
For the hydropower operators, the 2003 summer heat wave meant a period of
increased melt, and therefore increased production. For example, hydropower oper-
ators reported production that was about 20-25% higher than normal. However,
some operators are concerned that maximum levels of run-off have now been
reached and are unlikely to increase further. Between the 1960s and later 1990s to
early 2000, stakeholders referred to the steady augmentation in melt, which has
been seen to stabilise since 2000, mirroring studies that suggest a peak might have
already been reached and thus the transition from a glacial to a nival run off regime
may have already commenced (Huss 2011 ; Huss et al. 2008 ). In general, the opera-
tors tend to receive more water earlier in the summer melting, even if precipitation
(as rain or snow) is reduced.
Low flows in winter exacerbate the already high pressure on multi-use rivers
and streams in the Valais, where many rivers have already experienced some
form of drying up because of over-extraction, in particular during peak vacation
periods in this region, highly dependent on tourism for a significant part of its
income. The drying up of rivers becomes apparent after August, where uses com-
pete over less melt water in the late summer period (e.g. La Reche River) causing
tensions between the fishery and environmental lobby and on the other side the
agricultural and hydropower lobby. Peak periods of over demand (Christmas,
New Year and Easter) occur at the lowest periods of flow (also when hydropower
plants are capturing much of the water that would flow into the streams), but
climate impacts can also aggravate these lower flows in winter, further damaging
micro-organisms and fish.
From the mid-1980s, there were a series of heavy precipitation events that
occurred in relatively short intervals. In 1987, Muster and Goms were heavily
impacted, and then in 1993, heavy rain for a number of days resulted in destructive
flooding in the Saastal down to Brig, where the damage from the debris flows
through the heart of the city generated damage costs of close to CHF one billion
(FOS 2011 ). The winter of 1999/2000 became known as the avalanche winter, and
in the autumn of 2000 more major flooding events impacted Stalden, Baltschieder,
Gondo and Brig as well as the lower Valais at Riddes. In Gondo, the event resulted
in 13 dead, with practically the whole village being washed away (Amweg 2011 ).
While in Baltschieder, about 80% of the sewage infrastructure was affected, and it
took 5-6 years to repair. Stakeholders noted that while impacts on water provision
from flooding events, impacts on sewer system and drainage infrastructure has
tended to be much worse. While in all of these cases, it was the valley communes
that were most significantly damaged, the initial increases in river water volumes
started much higher up, at around 3,500 m.
Stakeholders allude to the shock at the increasing volumes of water that came
down during those periods, the increasing frequency of events across the two