Twenty years ago now, when no legislation required it, the Department of Vaucluse set up scientific monitoring to measure the quality of the 2,000 kilometers of rivers in the territory. The principle is to ensure the good ecological status of surface water by setting up monitoring stations, a sort of “traveling laboratory” which comes to comb through a multitude of indicators. The readings, in particular carried out by community agents, concern the level of oxygen as well as the weight of nitrates, phosphorus, possible concentrations of chemical molecules of specific pollutants*, molluscs and other macro invertebrates* and microalgae.
Every year, around twenty rivers are subject, in total, to around forty monitoring points. We do not trifle with this common good that is river water. Each data and each census makes it possible, if the need arises, to inform and alert managers (intermunicipalities, river unions, environmental managers, State services, etc.) so that they can improve the situations. critical and come, in some way, to repair the damage caused by the intensive intervention of humans on our natural environments and their ecosystems. Here for example, it will be a question of installing a fish pass to restore faulty ecological continuity*, there of making a wastewater treatment plant more efficient. If the water in our rivers does not belong to anyone, it is everyone's responsibility. And if Pierre pollutes upstream, he will prohibit his friend Paul from fishing downstream. Hence the need to carry out awareness campaigns among all the stakeholders concerned – unions, local residents' associations, communities, individuals – by disseminating the results of the analyzes as widely as possible.
The network is financially supported by the Rhône Méditerranée Corse Water Agency and by the Sud-PACA Region.
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