The Metropolis of Grand Paris integrates the governance of the EPTB Seine Grands Lacs and initiates work to prevent flooding

This statutory modification is the result of several years of partnership work between Seine Grands Lacs and the Metropolis of Greater Paris, but also with all the historical members. It is also the result of institutional changes and the exercise of powers and missions in the area of ​​flood prevention by inter-municipal authorities such as the Metropolis of Greater Paris.

Within this framework, 9 metropolitan councilors have been appointed to sit on the governance of the EPTB. The City of Paris will have 6 representatives, the Departments of Hauts-de-Seine, Seine Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne will have 3, 4 and 4 respectively. The urban communities of Meaux, Troyes-Champagne Métropole and Saint-Dizier, and the Grand Est region will also sit on the EPTB.

“The EPTB Seine Grands Lacs union welcomes the Metropolis of Greater Paris within its governance. An important player in water policy at the scale of the metropolitan area, the MGP will be able to better interact with all the other territories of the Seine watershed. Balanced governance will make the reinforced action of the union relevant. We can only rejoice at this hopeful arrival ”, underlines Frédéric MOLOSSI, President of EPTB Seine Grands Lacs

“After these 4 years of negotiations, I thank President Frédéric MOLOSSI for his commitment and perseverance. I am delighted with this membership, which testifies to the fact that the Metropolis is a major player in flood prevention, both in the unions of our local rivers and at the level of the Seine and Marne watershed. We will be able to work, with the City of Paris and the 3 Departments of the inner suburbs, within the Seine Grands Lacs and with the State, to the realization of a major project, expected and useful for the inhabitants ”, indicates Patrick OLLIER, President of the Greater Paris Metropolis

The Bassée pilot plant: a major project that is becoming a reality

The vote taken on December 1, 2020 also makes it possible to secure the financing of the works of a major project to improve the protection of the territory from the overflowing floods of the Seine, reduce the foreseeable damage and enhance a unique ecosystem supported for many years by Seine Grands Lakes in the Bassée sector (Seine-et-Marne).

In the event of the Seine flooding, the pilot locker will allow pumping to store 10 million m³ of water during the passage of the flood peak and reduce the water heights downstream. Along with the creation of this dammed space and in consultation with local stakeholders, the typical habitats of the alluvial valley of the Bassée will be restored. As such, more than 12% of the total budget of the operation is dedicated to improving the biodiversity of this territory.

This project, declared to be of public utility, will be financed to the tune of 48M € by the State under the Fund for the Prevention of Major Natural Risks, the Greater Paris Metropolis for a total of € 31M and the EPTB (€ 22M). The work will be carried out between 2021 and 2024.

The overall project could provide for damming a total of 9 areas spread over 2 hectares in the Bassée valley, in order to be able to store 300 million m55 of water in the event of a major flood. Commitment to this achievement will depend on the success of the pilot site operation.

A new page in the history of the EPTB Seine Grands Lacs

The Seine Grands Lacs Territorial Public Basin (EPTB) is an open mixed syndicate whose scope of intervention is delimited to the north by that of the EPTB Oise-Aisne, to the east and south, by the limits of the Seine-Normandie district, and downstream by the limits of SAGE Mauldre and the hydrographic unit of Seine Mantoise. Its purpose, as a territorial public basin establishment, within its scope of intervention, is to facilitate the prevention of floods, the balanced and sustainable management of water resources, as well as the preservation, management and restoration of the biodiversity of aquatic ecosystems and wetlands. It will therefore allow the Métropole du Grand Paris to participate, in addition to its action on the metropolitan territory, in actions on the upstream basins of the Seine and the Marne, and thus contribute to downstream / upstream and urban / rural solidarity by flood matter. With this membership, the metropolis will contribute in particular to the management of the four large reservoir lakes which make it possible to store nearly 800 million m³ of water from October to June.