WATER: INSTRUMENTATION IS NOT SUFFICIENT

In 10 or 20 years from now, the mountain hydro system will be turned upside down due to climate change. This is due to a faster increase in average temperature than in low-land areas, a more brutal alternation between very hot and very cold weather, precipitation which is similar in quantity but distributed differently throughout the year, changing flow of rivers, an early flood peak in spring, and, as a result, a modified water filling method.

In terms of consumption, there will be increased demand in resorts, due to a rise in the number of spas, artificial snow coverage, the development of hydroelectric micro-plants and farm facilities – made possible due to milder temperatures.

There will also be economic repercussions for areas which make a living from water-related activities.

“With amounts of water that we have less control over and which are set to decrease and increasing use, what is the solution?”, asks Marion Douarche, Geographer and Head of the Cimeo Design Office in SaintChaffrey (Hautes-Alpes). We know how to manage energy and water in pipes, but managing water in the natural environment is more difficult”. Especially because information about water is lacking, contrasting and not representative in every area. The picture is the same when it comes to uses. Marion Dourache calls for relevant instrumentation, coupled with regular local monitoring to improve knowledge. “It’s costly but necessary”.

The level of Lake Serre-Ponçon is the focus of study due to its many uses: water supply, producing hydroelectricity, flood regulation and tourism.

Predicting water table levels

Atos’ artificial intelligence centre carried out a project with some twenty partners from Hérault, local authorities, joint agencies, the Chamber of Agriculture, the Water Agency, Météo France and other technological companies to predict water table levels and the impact climate change has on them. The tool developed uses data from piezometers, precipitation and temperatures to simulate water table behaviour. “We can obtain accurate two-to-three-year predictions. We are still at the prototype stage”, announced Antoine Olgiati, Head of South-East France Innovation at Atos. Editor’s Note: A piezometer measures the pressure of liquids.

MOUNTAIN INNOVATIONS: CURRENT AND UPCOMING INNOVATIONS