IS.Rivers General Secretariat

GRAIE - Groupe de Recherche Rhône-Alpes sur les Infrastructures et l'Eau
Presidents of the scientific committee: Pierre Marmonier, Didier Graillot, Hervé Piégay et Bernard Montuelle
General Secretaries: Anne Clémens, ZABR et Elodie Brelot, GRAIE

To contact us:

http://www.isrivers.org
http://www.zabr.org
http://www.graie.org

E-mail : isrivers@graie.org

 ZABR - The Rhone Basin Long Term Environment Research

The Rhone Basin Long Term Environment Research (a scientific label of the CNRS) comprises Observatory and / or Experimental Sites. It is the support of research programs that provide elements of knowledge to stakeholders and to public decision-makers, in the field of sustainable management of rivers and watersheds.

4 federating and structuring research themes

 Climate change, water resources and dynamic
 Fluxes, habitats, biocenosis
Pollution flows, ecotoxicology, ecosystems
Social demands and management strategies

8 geographical study sites

4 sites:

The Drome watershed, representative of an area that is not yet very affected by human activities,
 The Ardieres watershed, representative of an area very affected by intensive viticulture
 The Arc Isere watershed, representative of alpine rivers
 The Wetland site, dealing with ecology and biodiversity

4 observatories:

OTHU - Field observatory for urban water management,
Alpine Lakes observatory
Rhone Sediment Observatory (fluxes to Mediterranean sea, pollutants, effects of management)
OHM Rhone Valley (Human - Environments)

Its main partners

- Rhone-Mediterranean & Corsica Water Agency
- CNR
- CNRS
- DREAL Rhone-Alps (Local representation of the French ministry of sustainable development)
- EDF
- Urban Community of Lyon
- Rhone Alps Region Council

 GRAIE - The Rhone-Alps Groups of Research on Infrastructures and Water

An association with 300 members

The GRAIE - The Rhone-Alps Group of Research on Infrastructures and Water – is a non-profit organization created in 1985. Its goal is to mobilize and bring together those involved in water management and urban planning, to help communicate the information and research results in this field on legal, methodological and technical issues, and to promote the evolution of practice by information and training of practitioners. It has almost 300 members, mostly local authorities, research laboratories, engineering firms and government services.

The GRAIE has 9 permanent employees: 4 project managers, 1 technician, 2 assistants, 1 accountant and 1 manager. They have specific technical and scientific skills, enabling them to promote best practices, to participate in knowledge transfer and to communicate collective messages to national authorities. The GRAIE is governed by a board of administrators, made up of local authorities, scientists and companies. It also has a guidance council gathering together its main partners.

Its main partners:

- Urban Community of Lyon
- Rhone-Mediterranean & Corsica Water Agency
- Rhone Alps Region Council
- Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy (DREAL Rhone-Alps: local representation of the French ministry of sustainable development; CERTU: technical support of the French ministry of sustainable development)

The GRAIE’s action is developed around 4 themes

better link water management, urban planning and development, promote BMPs (Best Management Practices) and control the impact of discharges on waters bodies,

better integrate public health risks into water and urban drainage management,

better control aquatic environments by integrating all their different aspects,

better understand, assimilate and put into place urban water regulations, and contribute to their development.

The GRAIE aims to develop a shared culture based on knowledge and exchange of experiences, in order to improve practices in the field of water management. The GRAIE develops partnerships with other non-profit organisations for its events, to reinforce networking between stakeholders. Its role is also to elaborate and present proposals to the national government and other authorities and partners, in order to build or improve regulations for water management throughout the country. It thus represents a group of local authorities, scientists and technical partners all gathered together to search better solutions for everyone.

Complementary and coordinated modes of actions

The GRAIE coordinates working groups and regional networks on urban drainage and water management, leading to technical, methodological and regulatory proposals.

It hosts 3 research groups: ZABR (a Scientific Interest Group labelled ‘Zone Atelier’ by the National Centre for Scientific Research and Unesco), OTHU (Field Observatory for Urban Hydrology) and SIPIBEL (Bellecombe’s pilot site on hospital wastewater characterisation and treatment).

It regularly organises local, regional and international meetings, conferences and seminars, which privilege the comprehension and application of the water policy, the access to technical knowledge and research results, as well as the exchange of management practices.

All outputs are made publicly available on its website.