Nicolas Gendreau and Sylvie Cassou-Schotte, respectively Managing Director and Chair of the Bordeaux Métropole Water Authority, and Nicolas Pédron, BRGM Regional Director, at the signing of the partnership between the two organisations on 5 October 2023.
© Régie de l'Eau Bordeaux Métropole
On Thursday 5 October, BRGM, represented by its Regional Director, Nicolas Pédron, and the Bordeaux Métropole Water Authority, represented by its Chair, Sylvie Cassou-Schotte, and its Managing Director, Nicolas Gendreau, signed a partnership agreement for the period 2023-2027. Through the agreement, BRGM and the Bordeaux Métropole Water Authority wish to formalise and strengthen their collaboration on joint research projects aimed at preserving the quantity and quality of this underground resource.
The objectives of the agreement
In formalising this agreement, the Bordeaux Métropole Water Authority wishes to draw on BRGM's expertise in aquifers and hydrogeological models, to receive support on groundwater management issues and thus become involved in research to preserve water resources. BRGM's aim is to strengthen its consultancy role in providing reliable input for the decisions of the public players responsible for water management and to affirm its position as a player in the Bordeaux Metropolitan area.
The areas of cooperation covered by the agreement were determined by matching the respective spheres of competence and objectives of the Bordeaux Metropolitan Water Authority and BRGM. The aim is to improve knowledge of the groundwater resource in relation to its various uses, to provide accurate measurements, to monitor its quality and evolution over time, to identify new resources and to anticipate changes in groundwater availability.
Two project examples
The partnership agreement will enable the funding and implementation of two research projects initiated by BRGM and the Bordeaux Metropolitan Water Authority.
- The aim of the ERICA project is to strengthen the resilience of Bordeaux Metropole's drinking water system up to 2070, by taking into account factors such as climate change and population growth. The aim is to anticipate as many scenarios as possible in terms of the availability of water resources and to consider several relevant solutions and action plans for preserving them. The engineering firm ALTEREO has joined forces with the Water Authority and BRGM to bring the project to fruition.
- The aim of the AGORA 2 project, which is based on hydrogeological models, is to optimise abstraction from all the wells that draw on the Oligocene aquifer, so as to extract the right quantity at the right time, thereby economising the resource while meeting demand.
Research: a priority of the Bordeaux Metropolitan Water Authority
For the Bordeaux Métropole Water Authority, the partnership agreement and the resulting projects will be followed up by its Department of Research, Innovation and Ecological Transition. The decision to involve the Department in the project is in line with the Water Authority's strategy to become a key player in local research and innovation.
Preserving resources, a major challenge for the Bordeaux Métropole region
The drinking water in Bordeaux Métropole comes exclusively from groundwater. These precious resources provide good quality water that requires little treatment to make it drinkable. However, the water, some of which is thousands of years old, is now being over-exploited. Around 56 million m3 of water are abstracted each year to meet the needs of the region's 800,000 inhabitants. It is a precious resource and it has become vital to preserve it, in terms of both quantity and quality.
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