Study Published On Water management in Swiss ski resorts

With decreasing snow reliability due to climate change, artificial snowmaking is becoming increasingly important in ski resorts.

The study therefore focused on three key questions:

1) Is there currently and in the future enough water available to meet the demand for artificial snowmaking?,

2) Do climate change and the increased water demand of ski resorts lead to conflicts with other water users or the environment? and

3) How can any potential water conflicts be resolved? Under the direction of Swiss cable cars and in collaboration with experts, the two ski resorts of Bivio and Belalp were examined as examples.

Artificial snowmaking, at around 1% of Switzerland's total annual water consumption, uses significantly less water than is often assumed. Nevertheless, both the short operating period (November/December) and the spatial concentration of its use are significant factors, as they lead to a very high, localized demand for water in a short period. This study developed a methodology for analyzing water management in ski resorts. Besides the amount of water, temperature and infrastructure are also crucial for artificial snowmaking to produce sufficient artificial snow within a short timeframe.

The availability of data—both hydrological and climatic—as well as collaboration between cable car companies, ski resorts, and experts are essential for applying this methodology. It is therefore important to address future developments early on in order to identify and avoid potential conflicts. The developed methodology supports this process by enabling fact-based argumentation and collaboration.

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