In Grazer Auwiesen

Washing up causes bacteria alarm in the Mur

The Grazer Auwiesen are a popular recreational area(Bild: Braunegger)

Guests at Grazer Auwiesen, a popular leisure area south of the city, wash used barbecue utensils in the water of the River Mur. A sample shows: The water quality is under threat, KFG Club Chairman Alexis Pascuttini calls in the Ombudsman's Office.

The Auwiesen leisure area in the south of Graz has been a source of controversy for years. Residents have been complaining about odors and noise pollution due to the barbecue area there. Now there's fire under the roof again, but this time it's about water.

Time and again, visitors wash used barbecue utensils directly in the Mur water, often with washing-up liquid! Greasy residues and oil films on the surface of the water are the result. As the floodplain meadows are located near the "Altarm Thondorf" branch of the Mur, the situation is even worse: The Mur is not a flowing body of water there, so the dirt remains.

Those responsible in the city refuse to recognize the problems in the floodplain meadows and take appropriate measures.

Alexis Pascuttini

Bild: Wiesmüller

"General ban on barbecues"
Alexis Pascuttini, chairman of the Korruptionsfreie Gemeinderatsklub (KFG), has now become active in the case. "Those responsible in the city refuse to recognize the problems at the Auwiesen and take appropriate measures. I have already repeatedly called for a general ban on barbecues." And: "I have taken a water sample and had it analyzed by the University of Graz."

The result is alarming: a significantly increased number of enterococci were found, which in the worst case can lead to blood poisoning. "As these bacteria can be resistant to antibiotics, they are particularly feared," says Pascuttini.

Phosphorus and pH values are also borderline. Pascuttini's conclusion: "The water quality at the Auwiesen does not comply with Austrian guidelines!" Pascuttini, who will put forward an initiative for close monitoring of the water quality in the next municipal council, is calling for stricter controls by the police "or a groundsman". He has also called in the Austrian Ombudsman Board: "After all, they are the right people to contact in the event of maladministration, which is definitely the case here at the Auwiesen."