Olle Utsi in Vájssáluokta, stands by the shore of Áhkájávrre and shows the boat, which has a large crack in the bottom and two holes.
– The boat has been lying and hitting sharp rocks. My cousins had some plastic so we can scratch the boat. Otherwise you won’t get home, he says.
Vájssáluokta, which is one of Sirge’s Sami villages, is located by the beach of Áhkájávrre. The boat is vital for those who live on the south side of the lake. On the north side, the road ends at Ritsem and the boat is a good means of transport. The lake was dammed in Suorva almost 100 years ago. Áhkájávrre and Stora Luleälven is one of Sweden’s largest hydropower systems and the company Vattenfall’s most important river for the production of hydropower.
“You get so pissed off!”
And the reindeer herding Sami in Vájssáluokta are used to different water levels. Over the years, they have had to move their habitats higher and higher from the lakeshore, as the shores erode when there are high waves.
– You get so pissed off. Soon we will have nowhere to park the boats along the shore if there is more water, says Olle Utsi, who has lived all his life in Vájssáluokta.
Do you have to pay for repairs yourself or does Vattenfall pay?
– Yes, we are probably the ones who pay. We have previously tried to get Vattenfall to arrange, for example, piers as protection, but we have nothing to gain there.
Maximum limit not reached
Although there is a lot of water, the maximum permissible limit has not been reached – there is about one meter left.
– This much water is usually only in the autumn, but then we are not here. It’s about safety, says Olle Utsi
It is not only Olle who has reacted. SVT Sápmi has also spoken to both other boat drivers, helicopter pilots and residents in the area who testify to the high water level.
In the clip, Olle Utsi shows the damage to the boat.