Hydrogeology: Excursion to Flims (Switzerland)

Date: 26.05. - 30.05.2015

The village of Flims is situated in Eastern Switzerland. It is a touristic resort with both winter and summer activities. One of the summer highlights is the Caumasee, a clear, warm lake without superficial in- and outlet. A road tunnel to alleviate traffic jams in the village cut a karst tube, consequently, water level in karst dropped. Parallel to that, water level in Caumasee also dropped. However, the lake lies on the Flims rockslide, one of the largest of the Alps, without direct link to karst. Furthermore, a precipitation deficit also played a role.

The deciphering of the interplay between karst, rockslide, and sinks and springs took more than three years and a sophisticated network of measuring devices. The excursion in Flims aims to present the measuring network, the results, and it also shows an intelligent water management, an interplay between the village (drinking water), the hydropower facility (electricity generation), and the ski resort (artificial snowing). This management was approved by all instances as well as by NGOs for nature conservation.