After four droughts and covid, the Navigation on Lac des Brenets can rejoice in having experienced a great season in 2024. And this, despite the rain which may have held back visitors this spring. Director of the NLB, Yann Durig estimates that his three boats transported some 50,000 travelers this year. And the season is not over. There are still three weekends left.
This season which is coming to an end is a real breath of fresh air for the company which has been going through complicated years since 2018.
2024 was rather rainy, undoubtedly preventing some tourists from setting out on the lake’s waves, particularly this spring. But above all, the rain helped prevent the lake from drying out, as was the case in 2018, 2020, 2022 and 2023. Last year, navigation even had to be stopped for two months, in peak season. This shows if 2024 was decisive.
The director of the NLB will reach retirement age in 2025. But there is no question for him of putting away his captain’s cap. To enable his company to keep its head above water, he has had to make investments in recent years. We particularly remember the purchase in 2019 of the Saut-du-Doubs restaurant, closed for more than three years. Its renovation and reopening made it possible to attract 10,000 additional passengers that year, estimates Yvan Durig.
Despite investments and a good 2024 season, the horizon for the NLB is not yet completely clear. Society is not safe from further drying up of Lac des Brenets. To try to remedy the problem, a taskforce was created in 2022. It has carried out various studies including, recently, a bathymetry, an x-ray of the bottom of the lake, “to allow us to detect the porous places in the last basin”, explains Yvan Durig and finding sealing solutions. The fact remains that the site straddles the Franco-Swiss border, which means two systems, two legislations, two ways of doing things. The approval of both parties is required to move forward with this file.
The NLB season will conclude the first weekend in November. These days, the flow at the Doubs Falls oscillates between 50 and 70 cubic meters per second, all surrounded by autumnal colors, enough to make you dream. /cwi
