Channel of Provence
The Canal of Provence is a regional hydraulic work which takes part in the service road, mainly out of raw water, collected in the the Verdon, 116 communes of the Rhone delta and the Var whose Aix-en-Provence, Marseilles, Toulon, is a total population of 3.000.000 inhabitants. It irrigates by sprinkling 80.000 hectares of arable lands and feeds more than 8000 industrial sites of the area. Of a length of almost 270 km whose 140 in underground, the channel designed and carried out gradually, on the basis of initial diagram which varied very little, as from the Sixties, for thirty years has avoided the effects of the dryness in the served departments, thus contributing to their développment economic.
The creation of the Company of the Channel of Provence
Since always the provençaux ones ingéniés themselves to benefit the best from the Durance and its principal affluent, the the Verdon so that they produce electricity and deliver water in abundance for the agglomerations, the irrigation and industries. Since 1854, the Durance feeds the Channel of Marseilles which provides the two-thirds of the needs out of water for the City.
See also: Channel of Marseilles
If gràce with this channel, Marseilles and its area did not know any more a shortage of drinking water, Provence continued to suffer particularly in the rural areas from lack from water in a chronic way. After the second world war, under the impulse of the Ministry for Agriculture, departments of the Rhone delta and the VAr, as well as the Town of Marseilles had the will to free Provence from the water shortage which limited its possibilities of development.
In 1957, the Société of the Channel of Provence (SCP) is created with the mission of transferring water from the Verdon through the difficult relief of the area by building the channel of Provence.
In 1985, District council P.A.C.A. joined the board of directors of the company. The capital of SCP, S.A with public capital, is of 3.762.800 Euros. this one is then distributed between the Area Provence-Alp-Coast of Azure, the Departments of the Rhone delta, of the VAr, Vaucluse, Alp-of-High-Provence and Hautes-Alpes, the Town of Marseilles, the Rooms of Agriculture of the five departments above, the Cases Main road and Regional of Crédit Agricole, the Deposit and consignment office.
Holder of a concession of State by a decree of 1963, it is invested of a general mission for the hydraulic installation of the area Provence-Alp-Coast of Azure. For this reason, it in particular realized and it exploits the Channel of Provence, from where its name: Company of the Channel of Provence and Installation of the area Of Provence .
The investments were financed for half by loans and half by, Area, Department, Europe and Agency State grants of Basin.
Building work
The initial work of the channel started in 1964.
The whole of these installations implied up to now the realization of 271 km underground galleries and channels with open sky, 300 km of lateral canals and approximately 5.000 km of drains of adduction and distribution.
The channel in XXIesiècle
Features
The channel of Provence can derive each year 660 million m3 of water of the Verdon. Its maximum capacity of point reaches 40 m 3 a second. It follows coast NGF 350 Mr.
The principal works have a 270 km length including 140 in undergrounds. It feeds 3.600 km of district distributers of distribution under pressure.
It is composed of works of transport (channels, galleries, aqueducts, adductions…), of reserves, of pumping stations and additional works necessary to its operation. The reserves made up on the Verdon make it possible to guarantee the flows over one period of two years dryness, the channel of Provence being to its maximum capacity.
The drinking water contribution
The channel of Provence serves out of drinking water most of the communes of Provence.
It provides 40% of the consumption of the town of Marseilles, the other part being provided by the channel of Marseilles.
The agricultural irrigation
The management of the channel
Notes and references of the article
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