Seine-Normandy Basin (France)
[Based on information provided by the Seine-Normandy Water Agency (Agence de l'eau Seine Normandie, AESN)]
Background
Located in the Northwestern part of France, the SeineNormandy water basin covers about 97 000 km2 which
is close to 18% of the French territory. It forms a natural unity in terms of surface waters, ground and coastal
waters, and even contains some wetlands. The 1964
Water Act defined the contours of the hydrographic basin, which combines the actual watershed of the Seine
River (75 000 km2) with those of the small coastal rivers found in Normandy (22 000 km2).
The area is famous for its temperate climate and moderate rainfall (less than 750 mm of annual rainfall on
average), and most of the permanent rivers of the
3 000 km network meander lazily through gentle hills
and wide plains, which overlie a foundation of sedimen- Map prepared for the World Water
Assessment Programme by AFDEC.
tary rocks.
Archaeology and history both reveal strong links between the Seine River and the populations of the basin since time immemorial. Indeed before Jules Cesar, the Parisii tribe that
occupied the two main islands of today's Paris excelled in navigation and trading all the
way down to the Mediterranean Sea. They built quays and tow paths along the banks, and
maintained them carefully. Their motto is still on the Paris coat of arms.
The average population density of the "Ile de France" exceeds 900 people/km2 despite the
many forests of this region, creating tremendous human pressure on the rivers, which are
naturally characterized by their moderate flows (average annual runoff around 200 mm).
The same ecosystem also hosts 40% of the national industrial production, including 60% of France's automotive
industries and 37% of its oil refineries.
Intensive farming has developed over 60% of the basin
area, which produces about 80% of French sugar, 75% of
the country's oleaginous crops, 49% of the protein-rich
crops and 27 % of the bread cereals. One direct result is
that the actual discharge of a river can be more than half
composed of wastewater effluents.
Scientists consider that the Seine River was nearly dead at the beginning of the 1960s: out
of the 32 endemic species of fishes, only 3 of them could occasionally be spotted at Paris
during that period.
Source: World Water Assessment Programme, 2003, UN World Water Development Report 1: Water for People, Water for Life; Paris, UNESCO and New York, Berghahn
Books, Chapter 19: Seine-Normandy, France p. 429-446.
© UNESCO 2003. All rights reserved. For more information, visit www.unesco.org/water/wwap.
1
Present water management
The creation of the water basin agencies by the Water Law of 1964 marked the beginning
of the recovery of France's water-ecosystems. Starting in 1968 the Seine-Normandy Water
Agency's first tasks were to :
•
implement at the scale of the basin, and involving all water stakeholders, a sustainable
and coherent water management system, defined by national laws and regulations that
also take account of European directives;
•
insure the security of the water supply;
•
protect the natural heritage of the river environment;
•
reduce repeated accidental pollution;
•
improve the efficiency of the water works.
The water budget and programme is drawn up for a
five-year period. The programme is proposed by the
Basin Committee ("Water Parliament"), which includes all stakeholders, and is approved by an oversight board, whose chairman is the Prefect of the Ile
de France Region. Out of the 1992 Water Act has
come a new tool for water planning: the master
plan of the basin called the SDAGE. It is reinforced
by smaller plans (SAGE), drawn up by local water
committees at each sub-basin level. Since 1992, the
water agencies have also linked their water databases to those of the national water network
(RNDE), and developed quality assessments systems (SEQ).
Seine-Normandy still operates its own measurement
network and, since 1995, has been using a yearly
reporting instrument based on performance indicators. This reporting system assesses and monitors
the effectiveness of the environmental, economic,
social and administrative actions undertaken in implementing the master plan. It includes 45 indicators of various kinds, corresponding to the specific
targets of the SDAGE, and gathered along 5 indices
corresponding to respective chapter headings. The
report has been produced every year since 1997.
Seine-Normandy Water
Agency's
MAIN CHALLENGES :
Environment : to improve the:
- control of agricultural pollution
- control of urban stormwater
pollution
- treatment of domestic nutrients
- restoration of wetlands and
reedbeds
- assessment of environmental
performance
Economics (priority areas) :
- economic costing of water,
including damage
- assessment
- economic and social water
scenarios for 2015
- cost-effectiveness valuations
of programmes
Governance : to reinforce :
- legitimacy of the decision
making process
- public participation
- equity
- solidarity
Source: World Water Assessment Programme, 2003, UN World Water Development Report 1: Water for People, Water for Life; Paris, UNESCO and New York, Berghahn
Books, Chapter 19: Seine-Normandy, France p. 429-446.
© UNESCO 2003. All rights reserved. For more information, visit www.unesco.org/water/wwap.
2
Results
From 1991 to 2001, the VIth and VIIth Programmes invested some
Euro 5.6 billions (approx. $5 billion) in supporting some Euro 10 billion (approx. $9 billion) worth of water works in the basin.
More than 500 new wastewater treatment plants were thus built, increasing the previous municipal treatment efficiency by about 20%
for the control of organic pollution, and by more than 50% for the
nutrients. The treatment of industrial discharges has increased by
more than 30%. As a result, reports show a continuous improvement of the quality of rivers - particularly inside Paris, where the
Seine now hosts more than 20 endemic species of fishes - and swimmers. The one exception is the continuing high level of nitrogen, more than
66% of which comes from farming practices.
On the other hand, groundwater shows an overall increase in
the concentration of nutrients and pesticides.
Obviously farmers were the missing taxpayers when it comes
to pollution; moreover, intensive drainage had ruined 50% of
the wetlands of the basin, which play a key role in nutrients
removal.
Another major source of pollution comes from uncontrolled storm water runoff in urban
areas: recent studies have concluded that the mass of solids suspended in the rain waters
of Paris alone, is equivalent to the load of all the municipal discharges from the entire basin.
From 1997, the agency started buying or restoring wetlands and reed beds; in 2001, a
permanent wetland unit was created; finally, the agency has begun various educational
and job creation programmes within the basin: some 900 weekly water-classes are now
supported every year, from primary school to university, and 2000 new jobs for young
people will have been created by the end of 2001.
International partnerships with emerging basin organizations are also underway. A small
fund has allowed the Agency to offer support to 77 micro-water projects within 28 developing countries.
Source: World Water Assessment Programme, 2003, UN World Water Development Report 1: Water for People, Water for Life; Paris, UNESCO and New York, Berghahn
Books, Chapter 19: Seine-Normandy, France p. 429-446.
© UNESCO 2003. All rights reserved. For more information, visit www.unesco.org/water/wwap.
3
Looking ahead
The Agency is now optimistic that it can meet the environmental challenges
that lie ahead. It will do so with the help of a new Water Act, which will be before Parliament by the end of this year 2001, coupled to the new framework
Directive of the European Union, passed last September. The new law should
also reinforce the legitimacy of the decision-making process through public participation,
while promoting more equitable water pricing and greater solidarity in sharing water resources.
The VIIIth 5-year programme of the Agency, which will start from 2002, has already been
prepared with these ambitious targets in mind. It has benefited from a permanent research
programme (PIREN/Seine), and the SDAGE monitoring system. In particular, the Agency
will undertake a major project for stormwater pollution control for the greater Paris area,
which should also remove by 2006 some 75% of the domestic nutrients presently discharged to the Seine by the city's inhabitants (equivalent to 8,8 million inhabitants) . The
VIIIth programme is therefore expected to launch a new era for the recovery of the waterecosystem of the basin.
Useful links and contacts
Read the complete case study,
velopment Report (WWDR).
published in the first edition of the UN World Water De-
To know more about the Seine Normandy Water Basin, here is a list of interesting projects
and organizations:
•
Seine Normandy Water Agency
•
The European Environment Agency
•
Seine-Normandy basin SAGE - [in French]
The UN World Water Development Report, coordinated by the UN World Water Assessment
Programme, is a joint effort of the 26 UN agencies and entities which make up UN-Water,
working in partnership with governments, international organizations, non-governmental
organizations and other stakeholders.
For more information, visit our website at www.unesco.org/water/wwap.
Source: World Water Assessment Programme, 2003, UN World Water Development Report 1: Water for People, Water for Life; Paris, UNESCO and New York, Berghahn
Books, Chapter 19: Seine-Normandy, France p. 429-446.
© UNESCO 2003. All rights reserved. For more information, visit www.unesco.org/water/wwap.
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