Bremgarten: La Reuss, a polluted paradise for surfers

At first glance, La Reuss seems clear and welcoming in Bremgarten (AG). But behind this idyllic image hides a much less attractive reality. Water is regularly defiled by wastewater releases. And surfers pay the high price, with nausea, vomiting or even hospitalizations. “I would have preferred never to know what is in this water,” said Nils, 29, after his first surfing session in the Reuss. Coming from Zurich with his brothers, he discovered after the fact that the river is regularly polluted by upstream treatment plants. “It’s shocking. In Switzerland, we don’t expect that. “

“I had 41 degrees of fever and I had to be hospitalized,” says a 24 -year -old surfer. This potentially fatal infection can cause renal lesions or meningitis. Others evoke more mild, but recurring symptoms: nausea, diarrhea and vomiting. On the spot, regulars even speak of the “reussy vaccine”, which anyone bathed in it receives at one time or another.

In the event of heavy rains, several treatment plants, notably that of Buholz in Emmen (read), reject their untreated wastewater directly into the Reuss. This scenario is repeated about 100 times a year, according to the Federal Environment Office. A legal process, but which can transform the river into a real infectious cocktail. A recently removed water sample revealed a concentration of faeces up to 23 times higher than the standard for certain pathogens.

Despite the severity of the problem, no warning panel is visible on this popular spot. The cantons of Argovie and Lucerne, as well as the operators of treatment plants, do not communicate in real time on wastewater discharges.