significantly in recent years. According to a study by the University of Texas at Austin, the city of Huaraz faces a high risk of flooding from the lake. The volume has grown 34 times since 1970, leading to the declaration of several states of emergency. At the same time, the population of Huaraz has increased from 25 000 in 1941 to around 100 000, many of whom live in the area that was previously flooded. In 2010 the UGRH presented plans to lower the water level by 15 meters to decrease the risk of flooding. At the same time, the national government rescinded responsibility for glacier lakes from the UGRH and transferred it to the regional authorities. Since the regional authorities did not come up with the funds to implement the measures proposed by the UGRH, six drainpipes were installed in 2011 which reduced the water level by three meters by July 2013. Worldwide responsibility In March 2015, a citizen of Huaraz who is affected by the risk of flooding, Saúl Luciano Lliuya, shifted global interest to the situation at Lake Palcacocha when he sent a letter to the German utility company RWE in which he held them partially accountable for the situation. Luciano Lliuya states that RWE has contributed half a percentage to global climate change through its operations; accordingly, RWE should contribute half a percentage of the costs to reduce the risk of flooding. On April 30, 2015, the company responded by saying that Saúl Luciano Lliuya's claim had no legal basis and denied any responsibility for the situation. The case was dismissed at the District Court Essen, at which point the plaintiff appealed the decision to the Higher Regional Court of Hamm. In 2018, the case entered into an evidentiary stage at the Higher Regional Court of Hamm. The decision establishes a historic legal precedence, finding that private entities which have contributed to anthropogenic climate change can be held responsible, in part, for damages linked to climate change. During this stage, court-appointed experts were tasked with evaluating the flood risk of Lake Palcacocha and preparing a report regarding the impact that anthropogenic warming has had on the increase in lake levels. References External links A potential disaster in the icy Andes: a regrettable blunder - Georg Kaser, Christian Georges Animation showing the consequences of a glacier block falling into Lake Pallqaqucha Lakes of Peru Lakes of Ancash