After a falling tree tore off part of the tunnel vault, the damage was significant and required rapid intervention. – Photo ASA de Gignac.
The ASA of Gignac preserves valuable archives that bear witness to the work carried out in the tunnel. – Archives ASA of Gignac
The Belbezet Tunnel has its source at the Combe du Cor dam. – Gignac ASA Archives
Jean-Claude Blanc, président de l'ASA de Gignac. JM – JM
Le lancement des travaux date du 20 février 1889. – Ici, une archive de l’ASA du Tunnel de Belbezet.
Des travaux doivent débuter avant la remise en eau printanière après qu'une partie de la voûte de la structure a été arrachée par la chute d'un arbre.
200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000The gallery is little known to the general public. However, it is vital to the functioning of the Authorized Trade Union Association (ASA) of Gignac, which manages the approximately 250 kilometers of canals* that irrigate the middle valley of the Hérault. The umbilical cord of this network, the Belbezet tunnel takes its source between the Causse-de-la-Selle, on the right bank, and Puéchabon, on the left bank, at the level of the Combe du Cor, and winds for 3.2 kilometers to the Belbezet dam, five kilometers upstream of the Pont du diable. A heritage essential to the cultures of more than 4,600 members of the ASA spread between Saint-Guilhem and Bélarga. Except that this water supply, essential to the operation of the historic canal, recently suffered a breakdown that jeopardizes the annual refilling of the network, traditionally scheduled for mid-March.
An emergency to intervene
“During a recent flood, a tree that had taken root in the underground passage tore off the vault when it fell. It collapsed and the impact is real over about twenty meters. There is an urgent need to repair. I hope that we will obtain all the authorizations very quickly in order to be able to carry out the work. If we do not turn on the water by March 15, there will be an impact on market gardening, vine plantations and, above all, a shift in consumption to drinking water”, warns Jean-Claude-Blanc.
A crisis meeting was organized with the stakeholders and government services to discuss the subject. “The aging of the structure requires emergency work because the structure of the tunnel has weakened over time. We must therefore intervene in the best interest of the general public”, reacts Éric Suzanne, sub-prefect of Lodève who went to the site, on the left bank, to assess the damage. “We must act quickly. In places, this underground is lower than the Hérault. In the event of a flood, the waters of the Hérault could rush in and widen the fault”, insists Jean-Claude Blanc. And the tailor-made operation will have to be planned in a site “only accessible by boat or helicopter.”
Reintroducing pastoralism
Among the challenges to be met, it will be in particular “to clear the canal right-of-way, which was done naturally, at the time, because pastoralism was very present. This ensured natural maintenance on the underground”, recalls the president of the ASA who hopes, at the end of the tunnel, to be able to promote the reintroduction of pastoralism in the sector. “I think we should be able to put it back to pasture next year”, he anticipates. But, before that, the emergency works will have to be carried out. Their cost should amount to several hundred thousand euros. “We are going to request a contribution from the Department, the Water Agency, the Region, the CCVH…”, specifies Jean-Claude Blanc.
A historical heritage
"The canal was voted and declared to be of public utility on July 13, 1882, by the President of the Republic. At the time, the work cost 4.2 million francs… This was financed by the State, for a third. The rest by a loan guaranteed by the State, to the ASA, for 50 years”, recalls Jean-Claude Blanc, president of the ASA of the Gignac Canal. The work began on February 20, 1889. Here, an archive of the ASA of the Belbezet Tunnel. The water intake of the Belbezet Tunnel occurs at the Combe du Cor dam. The water right was granted to the ASA in 1882. It authorizes drawing 3,500 liters per second from the Hérault River and up to 5,000 liters per second during floods.
And a significant portion of self-financing will be essential. But the stakes are high. Because this “work is a marker of the regional planning carried out since the 19th century. It remains a first-rate tool for Hérault. And I remember that, during the major fire that occurred on the Aumelas plateau two summers ago, we were happy to be able to pump in this canal to help contain the disaster”, signs Éric Suzanne.
That is 50 km of historic Canal and 200 km of secondary networks. I subscribe to read the rest