The Agglo d’Alès validates the securing of the Sainte-Cécile and Camboux dams in the Cévennes

D’importants travaux sont à prévoir sur les berges des barrages. Midi Libre – ALEXIS BETHUNE

Les élus de l’agglomération d’Alès se sont exprimés ce jeudi 27 juin après l’enquête publique du Département.

During the community council meeting this Thursday, June 27, the thorny issue of securing the Sainte-Cécile-d’Andorge and Camboux dams fueled the debates. Christophe Rivenq, president of Alès Agglo, gave the floor to Patrick Malavieille, community councilor of La Grand-Combe, vice-president of the Departmental Council and expert on the issue.

The two works are still the property of the Department. "We have been working on this file since 2002, since the day after the floods. It’s been 22 years! And the State services have finally come to discuss securing the dams with a positive approach, castigates Patrick Malavieille.The Department continues its work. It is regrettable that the State services are putting spokes in our wheels." And to deplore the contradictory injunctions between the safety of the population and environmentalist positions, a permanent escalation in the implementation of administrative standards.

A complex "on the verge of becoming famous"

Christophe Rivenq admits it : "With Max Roustan, we were sometimes afraid during the Cévennes episodes. Vigicrues was closely monitored." And to recall : "In the event of the dam breaking, we would have 45 minutes before the arrival of the wave to evacuate several thousand Alésiens. The prefecture’s zero-death objective is utopian. For the dam to give way, this means that the Gardon is full, that the streets of Alès are flooded, how to evacuate the elderly at night, with what means ? The only solution is to ;finally start work to secure the dam."

"Our hydraulic complex made up of the two structures is about to become famous, Patrick Malavieille manages to joke. The international commission on large dams which is meeting this year in China will discuss our site. The type of safety work envisaged, with a central spillway, has never before been carried out in France. The start of work is planned for 2025, at an estimated cost of more than 30 million euros. We are therefore hoping for a helping hand from the State to help finance all of this. The Department cannot bear such significant expenses alone."

The community advisors of Alès Agglo have expressed a favorable opinion regarding the securing of the dams.

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