Elected officials from the Alès conurbation spoke this Thursday, June 27 after the Department’s public inquiry.
During the community council meeting of 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.
Both works are still the property of the Department. “We have been working on this issue since 2002, since the day after the floods. That’s 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 state services are putting obstacles in our way.” And to deplore the contradictory injunctions between population security and environmentalist positions, permanent escalation in the implementation of administrative standards.
A complex “on the verge of becoming famous”
Christophe Rivenq admits: “With Max Roustan, we were sometimes afraid during the Cevennes episodes. We closely monitored Vigicrues.” And to remind: “If the dam breaks, we would have 45 minutes before the wave arrives to evacuate several thousand Alésiens. The prefecture’s zero death objective is utopian. For the dam to burst, that means that the Gardon is full, that the streets of Alès are flooded, how can we evacuate the elderly at night, and with what means? The only solution is to finally start work to secure the dam.”
“Our hydraulic complex consisting of the two structures is on the way to becoming famousmanages to joke Patrick Malavieille. 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 been carried out in France. The start of the work is planned for 2025, at an estimated cost of over €30 million. We are therefore hoping for a helping hand from the State to help finance all this. The Department cannot bear such significant expenditure alone.”
Alès Agglo community advisors have expressed a favorable opinion regarding the securing of the dams.
