MOUNTAIN RESERVOIRS AND CATTLE TROUGHS

The drought in the summer of 2022 highlighted the issues of water sharing in the mountains. In SaintGervais in 2018, a 35,000 m3 lake was created on the Joux alpine pasture site to produce artificial snow. The site had previously been disused for 70 years. “We are incredibly lucky to be able to share water with the Saint-Gervais STBMA and to be able to provide our animals with water from the hill reservoir. If not, we wouldn’t be able to stay here in summer”, explains Flavie Melendez-Rigole from Roches Fleuries farm. In Les Saisies, out of 4 man-made lakes, farmers can use 3 in summer. What’s more, with work on the new Rosière cable-car, 4 km of piping were laid all the way to the summit of Mont Bisanne, also with the aim of supplying water to farmers located on the different mountainsides. These examples of water sharing between ski tourism and farmers prove the importance of multi-use management of water in a world which is warming up.

Daniela Santanchè, Italian Tourism Minister

“Artificially produced snow can be reused in farming. After months of drought, a virtuous circle is created”. (Round table on the snow emergency in the Apennines, January 2023)

Since the installation of hydroelectric turbines in its artificial snow network almost 6 years ago, La Thuile ski area in Italy has produced clean energy. The hydraulic system collects water from a mountain spring and pipes it to turbines at the base of the resort via the snow gun machine system. The electricity produced is then sold to the Italian electrical grid. This project, spearheaded by Savoie company MND Group, leverages its expertise to help ski areas move towards sustainability and to use their infrastructure year-round. In Serre-Chevalier the snow factory turns into a micro-hydroelectric plant once the winter is over, and Les Arcs, Tignes and Les Menuires are set to follow suit.

The STEPSol solution, which was patented after 3 years of research and development with the CEA and INP Grenoble, uses mountain reservoirs and ski resort drainage pipes. The simple idea behind this energy storage is based on the STEP* mechanism: a pump causes water to flow upwards from the lower reservoir to the upper reservoir when energy costs are low; the water comes back down and drives a turbine when energy costs are high. Apart from creating useful storage by reusing artificial snow production equipment in a non-invasive manner, where is the innovation? STEPSol has developed a specific sizing tool and steering algorithms to optimise the system. After a conclusive technical-economic feasibility study, conducted on the facilities at the Villard-de-Lans resort, the first project is currently under development. It is also supported by the Savoie electricity generator, Energy Pool.

*STEP: Pumped (or Hydraulic Battery) Energy Transfer Station

Three for the number of cities it can supply simultaneously (Grenoble, Lyon and Chambéry), as well the number of minutes it takes to start up the plant and supply electricity to the French electrical grid. Two for the number of nuclear reactors it represents in terms of power. And one for its European ranking.

Mobile and emergency solutions using carbon recipients to remove pollutants from flows of liquid and steam.

The United Nation’s 2019 World Water Development report estimates that by 2050, world demand will exceed current levels by one third. To save water, technology offers us solutions. Solution 1: waste water management. From collection to distribution and use, pumping systems, analysis and treatment equipment, heat exchangers and distribution systems now enable waste water to be reused. At Evoqua Water, we innovate through high purity disinfection and filtration applications. Thermo Fisher and Danaher sell cutting-edge purification technologies. Solution 2: smart monitoring of water using sensors, software and smart connected grids like Itron, to track consumption, use, distribution and even leaks. Final solution: technology in farming for greater sustainability and streamlined management of needs.

As part of the diversification strategy of mountain areas, spa towns have a card up their sleeve as they search for a broader customer base and an up-to-date image. In the wake of Covid, which severely impacted and continues to impact spas, and as the Future Blueprint for the Mountains [Plan Avenir Montagnes] is being deployed, the French National Association of Elected Representatives from Mountain Areas (Anem) commissioned a study entitled, “Mountain Spa Resorts, a New Wellbeing Destination”. “Thermal spring water and altitude offer recognised therapeutic virtues; these resorts are located in prime, natural and cultural heritage locations and already possess the infrastructure they need to welcome tourists. They are sitting on a goldmine”, Anem was told. These resources must be put to use. The 47 resorts offer a variety of different profiles: some only offer spa treatments, while others focus on health or combine sport and wellness. Some others offer a poorly coordinated and non-specialised offer. The report concludes that the resorts should ride the wave of current aspirations for greener tourism, with an onus on wellness. According to Atout France, since 2015, the wellness sector has witnessed annual growth of between 8 and 12% in France. 51% of mountain spa resorts already provide wellbeing activities – the first step towards a conversion into a wellness destination – which offer four predominant benefits: disconnection-reconnection, relaxation, health and rejuvenation.The Anem study also identifies the need to create a national collective strategy, by developing a common identity and building a coherent offer. To begin their transition, resorts must make use of mechanisms, some of which they already benefit from: the Future Blueprint for the Mountains [Plan Avenir Montagnes] (31 resorts concerned), Small Towns of Tomorrow [Petites villes de demain] and Town Centre Action [Action cœur de ville].

Pyrenees, Vosges, Alps, Massif Central, Jura: the major mountain ranges are home to 50% of France’s spa resorts. Pictured here is Aquensis spa in Bagnères-deBigorre.

Above Romanche valley, Grand’Maison is the most powerful Pumped Energy Transfer Station in Europe, with 1,800 MWe of installed capacity. The upper reservoir (Grand’Maison dam at 1,695 m, with a capacity of 140 million m3) is connected 950 m lower down to a lower reservoir (Verney Lake, 14,3 million m3). Grand’Maison is made up of two plants, an external one equipped with 4 generating units and another underground unit made up of 8 reversible groups, which work both as turbines and as pumps. In peak consumption periods, the plant pumps water from the upper reservoir, which joins up with the lower reservoir. During off-peak periods, water from the lower reservoir is pumped towards the upper reservoir. The system is thus able to promptly manage consumption peaks and to use ‘excess’ electricity during periods of low consumption.

Climate change, especially in the mountains, where its effects are particularly noticeable, calls for better water governance, which in turn, requires better data management. Through its Enki software, Watershed monitoring offers integrated and participative management to obtain geolocation-based information and to help decision-makers to take well-reasoned decisions in terms of protection and management.

The company produces a scientific analysis of the drainage area, sources of pollution and heat, and the area’s use; a vulnerability analysis by studying the development, infrastructure quality and skills of the teams. “We work from source to tap, right up to discharge, to develop performance ratings and communication between decision-makers and the public”, concludes Sarah Goubet, project leader.

Agiro, the water manager for the Lake Saint-Charles drainage area in Quebec, adopted the software to track the quality and quantity of water in the drainage area, offer protection and restoration plans and work on an upstream-downstream solidarity project. In France, the Intercommunal Committee of Arcachon Bay [Syndicat intercommunal du bassin d’Arcachon] has developed a water quality data base. “Enki has enhanced their decisionmaking process and the way they draw up their report, which used to take between a few weeks and two months, and now takes only a few days”.

Cyanobacteria impact not only the health of ecosystems, but also that of people and animals, which may ingest them or which may bathe in contaminated lakes, ponds and water ways. These blue-green algae blooms are increasing in number due to global warming and present a major health risk which impacts drinking water, bathing, fishing and agriculture. “There are ways to detect them from space. But by then it is too late because they already exist”, sums up Mathieu Damour, Artificial Intelligence Manager at Scalian. Through the Nerthus project, the company has come up with a solution for predicting water contamination by biological agents sensitive to global warming, by gathering space, meteorological and field data. The tool can predict the emergence several days in advance, in order to alert decision-makers, consumers, companies and farmers in a given area. “The feasibility study, conducted in 2021/2022, demonstrated the commercial viability of our approach, as well as its scientific and technical feasibility. The French National Centre for Space Studies [Centre national d’études spatiales] validated our work. We have embarked on an industrialisation process which will enable us to deploy the solution in different areas”, explained Mr Damour.