The R²D²-2050 project: Risk, water Resources and
sustainable Development within the Durance river basin in 2050
Eric SAUQUET Cemagref, Hydrology-Hydraulics Research Unit, 3 bis quai Chauveau, CP 220, F-69336 Lyon cedex 09, France
1
Study area
The Durance River is one of the major rivers in the Southern French Alps. River flow regimes within the
basin are influenced by distinct climate forcings (from mountainous conditions in the upper part of the basin
to Mediterranean conditions in the low-lands) and highly altered by water management (abstractions,
reservoirs). The severe droughts observed recently in the Southern part question the evolution of water
resources in the XXIst century and the sustainability of water supply in the next decades. Economic
development as well as population growth will probably modify needs for water supply, irrigation, energy
consumption, tourism activities, etc. with consequences on water demand evolution. In parallel, the
European Water Framework Directive and the French policy on water management (Loi sur l’Eau et les
Milieux Aquatiques) impose to reach or to warrantee good ecological status, restricting water availability for
water uses.
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Partnership
This multidisciplinary project is
coordinated by Cemagref (French institute for
agricultural and environmental engineering research).
The project R²D²-2050 also involves CNRS (National
Centre for Scientific Research), the research
and consultancy company Actéon specialized in the
development and implementation of environmental
policy and two major water stakeholders in the
catchment, the Société du Canal de Provence (SCP)
and Electricité de France (EDF).
R²D²-2050 is partially funded by the French Ministry in charge of Ecology and the RhoneMediterranean and Corsica Water Agency.
Stakeholders will be involved in a steering committee to provide feedbacks on hypotheses retained by
the research team. R²D²-2050 is an opportunity for water users through their engagement to develop a
deep understanding of issues related to climate change, to support local initiatives on water
management planning as well as to integrate the limitations of the predictive models.
 Cemagref / Eric SAUQUET
 EDF / Bruno CONTY
 EDF / Frédéric HENDRICKX
 EDF / Julien GOLDSTEIN
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 EDF / Frédéric HENDRICKX
 Cemagref / Thibault DATRY
Objective
The Durance river basin will have to face two major evolutions concerning water management: on the one
hand climate change and on the other hand socio-economic development. The combined effects of
increase in water demand and impact of climate change on available water resources have not yet been
studied in this area. This issue is addressed by the national project R²D²-2050 (start date: 2010-12-01, end
date: 2013-11-31). The main objective is to assess future water availability and risks of water shortage in
the 2050s by taking into account changes in both climate and water management.
The Durance river basin upstream to
Mallemort was divided into
16 sub-basins to study the hydrological
N
sensitivity to global change
R²D²-2050 is organised into six work packages:
WP
Title
Task
1
Coordination
Administrative and scientific coordination
2
Past and present
conditions
Data collection. Naturalization of river flows. Calibration of rainfall-runoff models and specific tools developed to
simulate water management
3
Climate scenarios
Development of downscaling methods to provide future climate projections. Uncertainty assessment on climate
change scenarios
4
Water resources and
ecohydrology
Analysis of water balance at various scales and sub-basins. Uncertainty assessment on the evolution of each
component of the water cycle. Evaluation of the impact of climate change on aquatic ecosystems along the Asse
river network
5
Water demands
Development of territorial socio-economic scenarios including the evolution of water needs expressed by
stakeholders. Uncertainty assessment on future water demands
6
Risk assessment of water
shortages
Evaluation of water sustainability and implication for water management in the 2050s (discussion of possible
options including business-as-usual practices)
30
3
0
10
The Durance River at
Briançon (548 km²)
with minor influences
QM( m s )
40
50
X0100010
The same framework for evaluation of the different hydrological models applied on a common set of
sub-basins will be considered to assess and - possibly - reduce uncertainties due to methodological
choices.
20
2
Project organisation
R²D²-2050 will develop an integrated multi-disciplinary approach to represent accurately the Durance
river taking into account main biophysical processes, water management policy and decision-making
aspects, and their interaction in time and in space.
1
2
3
4
The Durance River
at Meyrarges (12500 km²)
influenced by hydropower production
and water diversions
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
MONTH (1 - JAN. ; 12 - DEC.)
X1424010
QM(m
6
3
s)
8
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
MONTH (1 - JAN. ; 12 - DEC.)
5th HyMeX workshop - Menorca (Spain), May 2011
50 km
gauging station
main river network
( major reservoir
0
20
2
40
60
Mallemort
4
80
The Asse River at
Beynes (375 km²)
with minor influences
3
QM( m s)
100
120
10
X3200010
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
MONTH (1 - JAN. ; 12 - DEC.)
10
11
12
More information available on the website: http://r2d2-2050.cemagref.fr/
Contact: Eric SAUQUET ([email protected])