STA, 17 March 2020 - The local authorities at the lakeside resort of Bled have called on the national authorities to help them maintain the popular Lake Bled and remedy the deteriorating state of the water, which has been coloured red for months due to the spread of cyanobacteria.

The open letter from the Municipality of Bled has been sent to the National Assembly, the Slovenian president, government and the National Council, calling for immediate state aid in the maintenance of the lake.

The state is being asked to draft a detailed plan for management of the lake, including measures for improving its state.

"We have been struggling to keep Lake Bled healthy for years, but we are not able to bring it back to a good state on our own, without urgent help from the state and the broader regional community," the local authorities say.

They noted that, according the Environment Agency, the ecological state of the lake had deteriorated in recent years, resulting in the spread of cyanobacteria, which have coloured the lake water red.

The excessive direct and indirect intake of any nutrients and fertilisers in the lake should be prevented, which requires an adequate legislative basis, the municipality added.

Another request is that a by-bass road is constructed south of the town of Bled, to be used by drivers who are not destined for Bled, but further west, towards Lake Bohinj nearby.

The local authorities want that the National Assembly pass a special law which would tackle these problems comprehensively, in particular when it comes to Lake Bled as the "greatest asset".

They believe that measures and powers at the local level have been exhausted, and that the fight to preserve the lake requires the competences and powers which exceed the local government framework.

From August 2019: Brown Algae Warning at Lake Bled