The City of Six-Fours is testing connected drains for six months

Six-Fours has already suffered intense rainy episodes, during which several roads were submerged by several dozen centimeters of water; a few years ago, emergency services even had to intervene by helicopter to save residents trapped in their flooded houses...

But since then, a lot of water has flowed under the bridge. In the most at-risk areas, the stormwater network has been resized to withstand the deluges, and preventive cleaning of drains has been stepped up.

A new milestone in flood control has been reached. Six-Fours has been selected as a pilot city for connected drains, as part of a partnership with the TPM metropolitan area.

"A drain," the town hall reminds us, " is a device installed at the level of a sidewalk to collect and evacuate rainwater or runoff. It is often a grate or an opening that allows the water to infiltrate the sewerage system and be directed towards the sea." This helps prevent flooding and the accumulation of water on roadways.

Preserving marine ecosystems

"Connected drains" are those now equipped with a sensor capable of detecting whether they are blocked by leaves or waste. "Using an application, technicians can monitor the volume of waste, quantify it, and receive real-time alerts about the condition of the drains in order to schedule a cleaning operation if necessary." Around forty of these sensors have been installed in the most sensitive areas of the municipality.

This "proactive approach" should, the City and TPM hope, "significantly reduce the impact of waste on marine ecosystems and promote sustainable management of this waste." Indeed, "preventive intervention prevents it from being dumped at sea during rainfall, thus limiting pollution." This progress also aims to save money on annual emergency and prevention interventions.

This test period, set at six months, will determine "whether the solution is effective, sustainable and adapted to the challenges" , before being deployed in other municipalities in the metropolis.