Technical tours

On 3 December, participants can choose between 9 technical tours to discover various aspects of water in the Greater Paris area. Most of the tours will start after lunch from UNESCO HQ at 1:00 PM.

Registration to the tours is mandatory (fees 25€).

Technical tour 1: Paris sewer system Limited number of places

Departure time of the visit: 2:00 PM

Meeting place: 93 quai d'Orsay 75 007 Paris - subway Alma Marceau

    This tour will show you the underside of Paris from Ancient times through to the era of Belgrand, the 19th-century engineer who designed the sewer system in its current form. In the underground tunnels you will learn about Paris sanitation history. You will also discover some very specific features of Paris sewer system.

Technical tour 2: Cruise along the Seine and Marne rivers banks Limited number of places

Departure time of the visit: 1:00 PM

    Numerous restorations of the banks of the Seine and Marne rivers have been carried out recently under the supervision of the Environment and Sanitation Division of the Conseil Départemental du Val de Marne. It is proposed to visit these restorations by boat near the confluence of the Seine and Marne rivers, uspstream of Paris.

Technical tour 3: Rebirth of a river in dense urban environment: the Bièvre river

Limited number of places

Departure time of the visit: 1:00 PM

      The 50km long Bièvre river flows the South of the Greater Paris to the Seine river. Its last 20km were covered 100 years ago, when the river has been transformed as a sewer. Nowadays the reopening of this river is a mojor objective of the Conseil Départemental du Val de Marne. In early 2015 began the reopening and restoration of a 2 km long segment of the Bièvre river. This visit will present the technical issues the Département has faced as well as the npublic participation procedure that took place. A photographic exhibition will illustrate these approaches.

Technical tour 4: Neuilly sur Marne drinking water treatment plant

Limited number of places

Departure time of the visit: 1:00 PM

    The Neuilly-sur-Marne drinking water treatment plant belongs to the Syndicat d'Eaux d'Ile de France, which is one of the major public water supply utility in France. This plant is one of the major production facilities of drinking water supplying the Paris region. Located on the banks of the Marne river, the treatment plant provides on average a production of 244,000 m³/day. It is now equipped with a process using the coupling ozonation and biological filtration through a bed of a grain activated carbon which allows pesticides and organic matter removal.

Technical tour 5: Centralized management tool Serv'o Limited number of places

Departure time of the visit: 1:00 PM

    Precursor tool for centralized coordination between facilities the Syndicat des Eaux d'Ile de France, which is one of the major public water supplu utility in France, the Serv'o ensures and guarantees permanent monitoring of the entire network by following the movement of water within the pipes and facilities 7/7d and 24/24h. This automated management information system enables the management of a complex flow of information, the planning of interventions and the operation and maintenance of the system for a better service to consumers.

 Technical tour 6: Water in the city - From water drop to river

Limited number of places

Departure time of the visit: 1:00 PM

    This technical tour is an introduction to stormwater best management practices in the western part of the Département de Seine Saint Denis: the area of the Three Rivers in Stains, the Georges Valbon Park, will be visited as well as the now covered Vieille Mer river, which had been burried with the post Wolrd War II urbanization. The Conseil Départemental de Seine Saint Denis aims to rediscover and restore this river.

Technical tour 7: Seine Grands Lacs - Flood and low flow alleviation management

Limited number of places

Departure time of the visit: 1:00 PM

    Seine Grands Lacs is a public utility created to manage high water levels and low flow alleviation in the catchment of the Seine river and its main tributaries. To fulfill its missions, it manages four reservoirs with a total capacity of 810 million m³. These reservoir are on the upstream catchment of the Seine river, the Marne river, the Aube river and on the Yonne river.

    Seine Grands Lacs offers to explain what are its main missions and to present a virtual visit (with technical information) of Aube lake. As the lake are located far from Paris, only a virtual visit is possible.
 

Technical tour 8: Seine Morée : hight performance waste water treatment plant

Limited number of places

Departure time of the visit: 1:00 PM

    Seine Morée is the last waste water treatment plant (WWTP) commissioning by the SIAAP. It is in charge of the treatment of wastewater from six municipalities (over 200 000 inhabitants) in the northeast of the Département de Seine-Saint-Denis in the North of Greater Paris. The most recent biological type processes has been chosed, including a separation of biological sludge membrane.
     Its performance (reduction of 99% of suspended solids, 98% of carbon pollution, 97% of phosphorus pollution and 83% of nitrogen pollution) contribute to achieving the objectives of the Water Framework Directive and is involved in restoration of the Morée river.
   

 Technical tour 9: The Austerlitz non-potable water plant

 Limited number of places

Departure time of the visit: 1:00 PM

     Paris is privileged to have an exceptional water legacy at its disposal, comprising a double underground network that guarantees both the supply of drinking water for human consumption and the supply of non-potable water, devoted to specific urban usages.

    Cylindrical in shape, built in the depths of the “underbelly” of Paris, the Austerlitz non-potable water plant resembles an underground Centre Georges Pompidou, with its gigantic colored pipes and enormous pumps. Seen from outside, only the Dragon fountain, the work of artist Chen Zhen, suggests the presence of water at the location.

    Managed by Eau de Paris, the Austerlitz non-potable water plant plays an essential part in building the sustainable city of tomorrow that is Paris.