Secure a sustainable, independent water resource in Hyères

Hyères-les-Palmiers, the "town with 17,000 palm trees" on France's Mediterranean coast, has an exceptional natural heritage. It also features several islands; Porquerolles, Port-Cros and Levant. In the early 2000's the town had to face major issues:
  • a population which quadruples in summer,
  • overly-stressed aquifers which suffered intrusions of seawater.

Hyères was obliged to obtain water supplies from the water companies of neighbouring municipalities. The town was no longer independent.
1
%
of seawater content is sufficient to deteriorate the quality of aquifers.
60-90
%
of water consumed was taken from aquifers

Combine smart management with recharging aquifers

As part of the public service delegation contract entered into with Hyères-les-Palmiers in 2011, SUEZ implemented the "Aqua Renova" project. The initiative is based on two developments: 
  • Limit the use of groundwater aquifers by increasing the potential of the water network assets through sustainable and intelligent management
  • Restore the alluvial aquifer of Bas Gapeau inland by pushing out seawater through recharge and better management of withdrawals
To sustain its action, SUEZ encourages the involvement of partners and inhabitants in a joint effort to preserve the water resources. 
 
Modernise the drinking water distribution network
To make the network more productive, we combined the rehabilitation of pipelines and water leak detection by installing acoustic sensors and remote meter reading. This smart management system also enables inhabitants to monitor their water consumption in real time. 
 
Restore groundwater aquifers
SUEZ deployed its full know-how to prevent the pollution of groundwater aquifers by seawater intrusions. 
SUEZ set up an innovative, environmentally-sound process to recharge the Gapeau aquifer by introducing fresh water taken from a local surface water mass. This technique is inspired by nature and is based on the drainage capacities of soils. It guarantees the suitable level of aquifers throughout the year, adequate to repel salt water intrusion from the very close sea.

 

AquaRenova schema (Hyères)

 

The results

Through the alliance of innovative technologies and governance, SUEZ enabled the town of Hyères to assume full control over its drinking water supply.


The municipal authority of Hyères-les-Palmiers worked closely together to restore the water resources, to get the area autonomous back in terms of water supply by acting on the root causes rather than the consequences.

For this popular tourist destination, investment is intended to better meet the demand for water in the summer season.
24,000
water meters in the town fitted with the innovative remote reading device
150
acoustic sensors installed on the town centre water network
2.7
million m3
of fresh water infiltrated between October and April to recharge the Gapeau aquifer