Mountains are central for the provision of water demands and are therefore commonly referred to as “water towers”. “This provision service is strongly challenged by climate change associated with changes in the water cycle caused by the retreat of glaciers, rising snow lines, and changes in precipitation. One potential strategy to cope with these challenges is the construction of water reservoirs or the adjustment of current reservoir management strategies. These strategies need to account for various water uses” (Kellner and Brunner, 2021).
This project developed a concept for the expansion of a multi-purpose reservoir above the Grisons municipality of Laax. The stored water should be used for different purposes such as snowmaking, irrigation, electricity production, and – through pumped storage hydropower – also decentralised storage of renewable energy, in particular solar energy.
The project has been meeting with broad support. Securing the water rights and establishing a construction and operating company for implementation are coming towards closure.
Proposed multi-purpose reservoir Nagens in Switzerland (Source: wasserweltenflims.ch)
Links to the project (in German):