Cycl'Eau 2026 in Orléans.
© Cycl'Eau
Cycl'Eau is a regional trade fair dedicated to water management. This year, the event will be back in Orléans for the second time, on 30 September and 1 October 2026. BRGM, with its expertise in groundwater, is a partner to the event.
The Loire-Bretagne basin: 28% of the territory of mainland France
Improving the state of the water in our rivers, lakes, ponds and underground aquifers, as well as our coastal waters, is a major challenge in this huge Basin. Ensuring the availability of water of sufficient quality and quantity is and always will be essential to all human activities, and healthy natural environments provide us with many services.
The Centre-Val de Loire region boasts around 10,000 km of waterways, based around the Loire and seven major alluvial valleys: the Cher, Indre, Creuse, Vienne, Loing, Loir and Eure. Since the 2000s, the Region has been actively committed to a policy of restoring these aquatic environments.
BRGM’s involvement in Cycl’Eau
As a partner and member of the event’s Steering Committee, BRGM will have a stand in the Partner Village. We will also be taking part in several conferences over the course of the two days.
The Great Regional Debate: Risks, Resilience, Resources – the Challenges Facing the Loire-Bretagne Basin
Wednesday 30 September, 2.00 pm – 3.30 pm
Presented by Alain Dupuy (University Professor, Programme Director for Groundwater Management at BRGM)
Preventing floods, protecting aquatic environments, managing groundwater, adapting to climate change, etc.; water-related issues are now central to public policy-making. In the Loire-Bretagne basin, elected officials, local authorities and government bodies are all working together to improve the resilience of local areas and communities to the various risks, which are constantly evolving and becoming more severe.
This round-table will be one of the highlights of the Cycl’Eau trade fair, bringing together key regional stakeholders to share their visions and priorities for the future, as well as the initiatives they have already undertaken at various levels. The discussions will notably focus on flood-prevention strategies implemented as part of the French Flood Prevention Action Programmes (PAPI), various measures aimed at improving regional resilience to flooding, as well as the management of aquatic environments and flood prevention (GEMAPI), which has become a cornerstone of sustainable spatial planning.
The conference will also provide an opportunity to discuss and analyse the interactions between surface water and groundwater, which is essential for gaining a better understanding of how regional water systems function and thereby enabling local areas to adapt more effectively to climate-related challenges.
This round-table is a must-attend event, which will give participants a clearer appreciation of the key challenges facing the Loire-Bretagne Basin by taking into account the different perspectives of decision-makers and fostering discussion on how best to develop a more integrated, resilient and sustainable approach to water management.
Digital technology at the heart of the water transition
Wednesday 30 September, 4.00 pm – 5.30 pm
Presented by Sébastien Dupraz (Project Manager for Environmental Sciences and the JUNON project at BRGM)
Digital technologies now provide new tools for observing, analysing and forecasting, thereby enabling public and private-sector stakeholders to make more informed decisions and optimise the management of water resources.
This round-table will explore the latest innovations that are transforming practices in the sector: satellite observation, data acquisition and exploitation, collaborative platforms, digital twins and modelling tools. The speakers will share their feedback from key projects, such as the EDEN programme, the JUNON project and the development of digital solutions that respond to the needs of local communities.
The discussions will also provide an opportunity to address key issues: for example, how can we reconcile innovation, digital frugality and data sovereignty? How can we produce reliable data, share this effectively and feed the results into genuine decision-making tools to help protect water resources?
This conference will explore how digital technology, when designed to serve the needs and uses of local areas, can help drive innovation, resilience and efficient water management.
The soil, subsurface and water: what risks do local areas face?
Thursday 1 October, 11.30 am – 1.00 pm
Presented by Delphine Allier (Hydrogeological Engineer at BRGM)
Droughts, the rehydration of clay soils, fluctuations in groundwater levels or periods of heavy rainfall can weaken the ground and cause landslides, with significant consequences for infrastructures, homes and human activities.
This round-table aims to explore these complex mechanisms at the crossroads between hydrology, geology and agronomy. The discussions will provide a better understanding of the role of the subsurface in the water cycle, the links between agricultural practices and their effects on soil, and the interactions between water management and the prevention of natural hazards.
The discussions will particularly focus on clay shrinkage and swelling and how the impacts of this phenomenon are growing, notably at a time when the approach to this type of risk is gradually shifting from curative measures to prevention and adaptation strategies. The links between ground movements and flooding will also be examined in order to give participants a better understanding of the overall dynamics of these risks.
By drawing on the input and experience of both researchers and field operators, this conference aims to highlight the measures that need to be implemented to strengthen the resilience of regions in the face of these increasingly frequent and interdependent phenomena.