On Friday 31 August 2018, Alain Fauconnier, President of the Grands Causses Regional Nature Park, and Stéphane Roy, Director of Regional Activities at BRGM, signed a partnership agreement between the two organisations in Creissels (Aveyron).
© BRGM
BRGM and the Grands Causses Regional Nature Park established their first partnership agreement in 2018. The aim of the five-year agreement is to promote synergies between the two organisations in order to improve knowledge of the water resources available in the Grands Causses, so as to better manage and protect them.
Water, a key issue for the Grands Causses Regional Nature Park
Some 480 rivers run across the Grands Causses Regional Nature Park and three major waterways flow through the area: the Tarn, Aveyron and Lot rivers. Karstic limestone areas cover 65% of the Park.
The partnership between BRGM and the Grands Causses Regional Nature Park will improve our understanding of how the area's water tables function, and enable us to study the variability of water reserves and protect the resources from the impact of human activities.
The agreement covers five themes:
- improving knowledge of how the karsts function and monitoring the water resources,
- protecting groundwater from diffuse and one-off sources of pollution and improving groundwater quality,
- preventing flood risk and managing karst flash floods, in particular,
- developing geothermal energy,
- providing data about the subsurface to experts, elected officials and the broader public.
