Environment Canton Valais and WWF file lawsuit after fish die-off

The canton of Valais and the WWF have filed a lawsuit following the incorrect emptying of the Lac des Toules reservoir in Lower Valais last March. This led to the death of numerous fish and caused serious damage to the Dranse.

On the last day of the discharge authorized by the authorities in March of this year, the water released contained much more sediment than expected. The sand concentrations in the water of the Dranse prescribed by federal legislation were far exceeded. This led to a lack of oxygen and killed all life in the water.

The case could have criminal consequences. The local radio station Rhône FM reported on Wednesday that the environmental and veterinary services of the canton of Valais had already filed a complaint with the public prosecutor's office at the end of September.

The WWF recently did the same. "This kind of mismanagement must no longer be possible. We have filed a criminal complaint against Forces Motrices du Grand-St-Bernard and DransEnergie," Marie-Thérèse Sangra, regional secretary of the WFF, told Rhône FM. The two companies respectively own and operate the production facilities on the Dranse.

"Serious consequences"

"The laws were not respected. There were obvious omissions with serious consequences for the state of the Dranse," she added.

Sangra denounced the fish mortality. "Even worse" is the damage to the benthic fauna, i.e. the larvae and insects that live at the bottom of the river and form the basis of the food chain for a large number of animals, the WWF secretary explained.

In her opinion, it will take "decades" before the Dranse once again provides a favorable habitat for organisms in the bottom zone of the watercourse.

According to Rhône FM, Dransenergie and the Forces Motrices du Grand-St-Bernard did not wish to comment on the issue

SDA