Physio-Géo (Jan 2022)
De l'aide à la gestion au conflit pour la restauration du fonctionnement sédimentaire du littoral lémanique de Thonon-les-Bains (Haute-Savoie, France)
Abstract
Next to the Leman Lake, the city of Thonon-les-Bains monitors the morphological evolution of its shoreline. Therefore, the city has commissioned a series of studies over a 10 year-period. These studies have been carried out thanks to the cooperation of researchers in geography and experts in the private sector. The conclusion of the first study on erosion has shown that the significant decline of the shoreline (up to 1.5 meters) is due to biophysical (mainly waves and the lakeside drift caused by the north wind) and human forcing (retention of sediment by upriver dams, extraction of sediment at the intersection of the Dranse River and the Leman Lake and ship-generated waves). The main impact of this erosion is on the economy (frequent and expensive artificial supply of sand) and the landscape (damaged coastal path which endangers the stability of the Ripaille Wall, a built heritage of the city). Thus, proposals have been based on 1/ the soft restoration of the shoreline (eco-engineering techniques), 2/ the suppression of hard structures (two spurs to facilitate the distribution of sediments by the coastal drift), and 3/ a revision of the extraction of the natural supply of sediments. Confidence has been established between the city and the researchers. However, the decision made by the local government to stop future extractions of sediments has caused a strong reaction from the company. Subsequent dialogues have been difficult. Nevertheless, the latest study made on the lakeshore of Thonon has shown an improvement of the situation: the percentage of eroded lakeshore has decreased from 60 % to 42 % between 2014 and 2019. This result underlines the revelancy of the decision made by the local government, despite the fear of a possible socioeconomic fallout.
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