As every year since the construction of the Citeau sewage treatment plant has Belleville In 2011, the League for the Protection of Birds (LPO) published its report on monitoring the biodiversity of the site for the year 2023.
This proves conclusive in that it reports having counted 40 species of animals during this year’s inventories. A report that Frédéric Pronchéry, mayor of the commune, welcomes: “When we created the treatment plant, we wanted to show that it could do more than just filter water.”
Built on a site that was once very polluted, “the state of the wastewater treatment plant in terms of biodiversity was initially 0”the mayor likes to recall, adding that “We now see our balance sheets evolving positively from year to year”.
Brown the salamander in Citeau
Every year, new projects are implemented. If last year, the read saw the birth of the Hirondelles subdivision, the next project will consist of the reforestation of the part adjoining the site. “We would like to see the return of the salamander, the emblem of Belleville,” adds the mayor before specifying that the cash returns must however be done naturally, in accordance with what the associations recommend.
Cohabitation between the species that have been reintroduced until now is going very well, since several new protected species have arrived in 2023, including the wagtail, the Peregrine Falcon or the canary.
The read is a ecosystem on its own since part of the filtered water is drunk by the birds and the surface requires very little maintenance given that the two ponies feed on the shrubs.
The mayor emphasizes this practical aspect, adding that he plans to suggest to other sites, including private ones, to implement this type of project. “We plan to write and hold information meetings to show that there is real benefit to doing this,” he announces.
The Hôtel-Dieu labeled
The Citeau is not the only LPO-labeled site in Belleville, since the Hôtel-Dieu also serves as a breeding ground for falcons: cameras have been installed there to observe birds, particularly nocturnal species. bats have also settled there thanks to the replanted shrubs. One of the next steps will be to install an interactive educational circuit at the treatment plant for schools and teachers.
