An integrated water resource management approach for Lake Trasimeno, Italy

ABSTRACT This study aims to outline governance actions to mitigate impacts of climate change scenarios (drought) in Lake Trasimeno. A water balance model was integrated with a decision support system to evaluate water levels and water management scenarios. Water quality indices, based on Sentinel-2 images, allow the monitoring of parameters such as chlorophyll-a and turbidity. The possibility of diverting water volume from Montedoglio or Casanova reservoirs into Trasimeno Lake, according to the hypothesis of different “intervention thresholds levels” and volumes immitted, is investigated. Simulation results show that hydrometric zero represents the optimal threshold, maximizing the volume supplied and mitigating a water level decrease. An inverse correlation was observed between the lake water levels, turbidity, and chlorophyll-a concentration indices. Even if further studies to test the effects of mixing water with different physical and chemical characteristics are necessary, the proposed mitigation strategy could avoid the rapid growth of the above-mentioned quality parameters.