DURANCE IV

Hydraulic and fish monitoring of the lower Durance: effects of hydropeaking from the Mallemort dam

The hydroelectric development of the Durance-Verdon system is made up of a series of dams and hydroelectric plants fed by a lateral canal which takes water from the Durance (or Verdon). At the Mallemort dam, this canal returns the water either to the Saint Chamas plant and the Etang de Berre, or to the Durance. When the water is returned to the Durance, this is similar to non-energy hydropeaking (without electricity production). These hydropeaks are frequent, and can occur almost all year round, with the exception of the summer months (July and August). EDF, which operates these facilities, has a legal obligation to carry out ecological monitoring of the effects of these releases into the Durance.

As part of this project, in partnership with the Office Français de la Biodiversité and EDF, we are going to carry out hydraulic measurement campaigns and fish sampling upstream and downstream of the Mallemort dam, in order to

1. compare the structure of fish populations upstream and downstream of the dam;
2. analyse changes in fish populations over time;
3. understand the factors that explain the spatial and temporal variability of the populations, including the hydraulic and habitat parameters linked to the release of water into the Durance.