Chapter Five:   Louis Lagrange summarises 25 years' work

Summary of contents

5.2    This commemorative publication proceeds to highlight various aspects of  SILA's work over the years, beginning with its first committee meeting.

5.2.1   It continues with a discussion of the challenges SILA had to confront at the outset, and chapters written by engineers on the birth of the project to manage waste water, the management of the catchment area, and the state of the lake's water and on rules for navigation around the lake.

5.2.2  The  director of INRA, the research station responsible for carrying out annual surveys into lake water quality, outlines the struggle to restore the purity of lake water and a forestry expert explains the ecological importance of the reed beds around the lake - "les roselières" -  and the mayor of Annecy follows with a message about the need to manage carefully the lake shoreline.

5.2.3  Doctor Servettaz, in his role as deputy mayor responsible for hygiene, is allowed a few words on what, for him of all people, must have been a very proud occasion. This is followed by a chapter from the anglers' association - Dr Servettaz's great allies in the early days.

5.2.4  A senior architect discusses issues to do with managing construction around the lake, before Louis Lagrange returns a couple more times with a summary of the achievements of the Syndicate over the past 25 years followed by a brief financial summary.  Next there is a chapter on the cycle path around the lake,  responsibility for the management of which has by now been assumed by SILA, before two local mayors give examples of how the Syndicate benefited their communes, and the most senior contributor, the President of the Council of Haute Savoie, gives his opinion on the work of SILA.

5.2.5  Finally, and not least interestingly,  there is a brief note about the "founders" of the movement to safeguard the lake to whom Louis Lagrange referred in his opening remarks - i.e. who were the specific people to whom Annecy owes so much.

Birth of the project to clean the lake & treat household waste

Mr Morelon Director Dept. of Equipment, & Mr Cattane Engineer

5.4    "In 1945 a number of Annecy's riverside communes did not have any  infrastructure for sanitation and practised either spreading manure or using septic tanks.  Some were equipped with a limited sewer network which discharged directly into the lake without any preliminary treatment. The urban communes at the head of the lake discharged their waste water into the river Fier.

5.4.1   In 1948 the department of Roads and Bridges was instructed by the Minister for Reconstruction to study the urban population around the lake and related problems of sanitation.  Ten years later there arose a general awareness of the disturbing acceleration of eutrophication in the body of the lake.  This phenomenon, due to the excessive discharge of nitrates from household effluent led to a significant growth in the production of algae  and the asphyxiation of the lake.

5.4.2   The first thing the studies showed was the need for a complete treatment of domestic waste water, and by 1956 two alternative solutions were presented:

one envisaged intercepting only the waste water from Annecy and its neighbouring communes, leaving the other communes to discharge their waste into the lake after preliminary treatment, for which a number of small treatment plants would have to be constructed and maintained

the other envisaged a complete interception of all waste water by a general sewer main and treatment of the whole in just one treatment plant with discharge into the river Fier.

5.4.3   The costs of construction and operation of the two solutions were more or less the same, and the second solution was adopted.

5.4.4   It was to undertake this task that, on 15th July 1957  the Intercommunal Syndicate of riverside communes for the sanitation of Lake Annecy (nowadays called SILA) was created.  It was SILA who undertook responsibility for the overall management of the work, the technical aspects of which (planning and execution) were delegated to the Departmental Division of Equipment.  The draft project for the sanitation of the lake received a favourable decision from the Higher Council for Hygiene of France on 27 October 1958."

Birth of the project (continued)

The network of sewage mains

5.4.5    "The network of sewage pipes was constructed in individual sections.  The main collection pipe, whose construction was scheduled to take from 1960 to 1977, was the core element of the network.

5.4.6   Formed in two independent branches, East and West, it would extend to a length of 42 kilometres. The shallow incline of the slope around the lake, as well as certain difficult-to-negotiate stretches, necessitated the construction of 10 pumping stations: in particular to negotiate the path around the steep Roc du Chère in Talloires, where three stations in series enabled the connection of Col du Thoron with a total incline of around 110 metres.

5.4.7   At the downstream end of the lake entering the built up area of Annecy town, the pipe diameter reached 0.6 metres for the west branch and 500 for the east, which allowed a flow of waste water of 250 and 155 litres per second and which corresponded approximately to the demands of populations of 45,000 and 30,000 respectively.

5.4.8   The remainder of the network comprised 300 kilometres of sewage pipes within and between communes and 21 pumping stations.  One part of the pipework was connected to the core sewage mains, and the other - which was the case for one section of pipework in the main part of Annecy town - emptied into a pre-existing sewage pipe which served the northern part of the town. The construction of the secondary sewage pipes proceeded step by step each year as and when finance was available.  It is estimated that a further 200 kilometres of pipework remains to be constructed in order to complete the goal defined at the outset of the project.

5.4.9    The execution of the construction work occasionally presented specific difficulties, which were often non-technical.  If it was necessary by turns to reinforce the excavation works, pump water or get rid of rocks, it was also necessary to cross densely populated areas and properties with expensively landscaped grounds. This is why work was always carried out with great caution and, if necessary, with the assistance of landscaping specialists to return property to its original condition."

Birth of the project (continued)

The treatment of other household waste

5.4.13   "In order to deal with the issue of disposing of household waste, the Syndicate constructed in 1960, a processing factory with a capacity of 120 tonnes per day on the same site as the water treatment plant.  However, this installation has  by now become inadequate to deal with the rapid urban development taking place.  It no longer is able to cope viably with disposing of certain types of waste, in particular plastic containers which are becoming ever more numerous.

5.4.14   Moreover the equipment originally installed has been heavily exploited and is rapidly wearing out and so its replacement needs to be planned.  At the end of the day urban expansion brings with it problems for the locality.

5.4.15    That is why in 1974 the Syndicate took the decision to construct an incineration plant, and organised a tender amongst potential contractors in 1975 .

5.4.16   One proposal to construct a pyrolitic incineration plant attracted the interest of the Syndicate and was studied in detail. However, the implementation was set to take too long and the anticipated costs too burdensome in particular because of rising energy costs.  In these circumstances, the Syndicate decided in 1981 not to proceed with this option and instead launched a new tender with the participation of the Syndicate des Iles.  During this summer of 1982 the various proposals are being studied and a decision will be taken shortly, in favour of a solution with energy recovery.  The work will commence in 1983 on the site of Champ de l'Ale within the boundaries of Seynod and Chavanod where the Syndicate is the owner of more than 8 hectares of land."

5.4.17   The quantity of waste to be treated which exceeded 15,000 tonnes per day in 1963, and 30,000 tonnes in 1982, has experienced a regular annual increase of 5%. The new incineration plant would be able to treat 8 tonnes per hour or 60,000 tonnes per year based on a population for the year 2000 projected together with the Syndicate des Iles.

5.4.18   The execution of this project will complete the Syndicate's work in order to safeguard the lake, the environment and the quality of life."

A quarter century  struggle for the purity of lake water

Mr Laurent, National Institute for Agricultural Reseach (INRA)

5.5   "When in 1947 Hubault published his collected works on the lakes of France, Lake Annecy was defined as becoming eutrophic and the alarm was sounded.

5.5.1   Research studies from the start of the 1950s confirmed this tendency of the lake, especially as regards  bacteriological composition.  An article written by Mr Suchet in 1954 which appeared in the Annals of the Central Station for Hydrobiology, concluded with these lines: "lake Annecy is therefore on the road toward a disequilibrium more and more threatening for its surroundings.  To slow down this phenomenon of eutrophication it will be necessary to limit, or rather completely stop, discharge of effluent in order to allow the lake once again to evolve naturally in the hope that it will over time heal itself of the effects of human interference." What of today, 28 years later?

5.5.2   Twenty-five years ago there began in Annecy a crusade for pure water: well before concern for the environment was in vogue the elected representatives, the administrators, members of the public paid attention to the results of these studies and decided to stop discharge of effluent into the lake and engaged with faith and courage in an extremely long term project which was at the same time enormously expensive.  Today, with the complete encirclement of the lake by the sewer pipes achieved, not a drop of sewage is ever again going to foul the lake, and after a quarter of a century of effort we can draw up the final account. Studies conductedly annually between 1966 and 1981, thanks to financial support from the government, the Agence de  Bassin Rhone Mediterranean-Corsica, the regional authorities of Haute Savoie and SILA,  allow us to understand some of the ways in which the process of eutrophication has been reversed on this great body of water.

5.5.3   Accordingly, while during the past decade the concentrations of elements from fertilisers, particularly phosphorus, have shown a marked growth  in the large bodies of water of the Savoie region, this phenomenon has not occurred in lake Annecy, or the amounts of these elements remain at very low levels by comparison with their neigbouring lakes."

A quarter century struggle for the purity of lake water (continued)

5.5.4   "Even better than its chemical composition, biology bears witness to the satisfactory condition of the lake: the blue-green algae, indicators of eutrophication and harbingers of great limnological disorder which were dominant during the 1960s, have given way to those associated with clean water such as chrysophycées or golden algae.  The overall production of algae remains  modest compared with neighbouring lakes, the transparency of lake water varies only according to fluctuations explicable by variations in the weather and the nature of the phytoplankton no longer exhibits any of the rapid changes both qualitative and quantative of lakes in the process of eutrophication.

5.5.5   At the same time bacteriological studies show a radical and progressive change of state with now practically the complete disappearance of germs - the habitual witnesses of contamination by waste water.  The urban area around Annecy which draws its drinking water from the lake, is the first to benefit from a restoration of purity difficult to imagine during the 1950s.

5.5.6   Although the situation with the fish population cannot be directly related to the level of eutrophication of the lake, it is striking to note that it has been at lake Annecy that for many years the largest quantities of omble chevaliers have been caught.  This situation is without doubt due to the careful management of the fish population, but oligotrophication and absence of pollution with have contributed significantly to maintaining this very sensitive species of fish which is rapidly disappearing from many big lakes which are menaced by eutrophication.  Besides, quantative studies of fish stocks show that the population of lake Annecy, taken overall, is stable. Certainly the overall tonnage of fish present is inferior to that of eutrophic lakes, but the value of stocks of noble fish such as the omble chevalier, and corégones, is much higher that that of the large volumes of useless fish such as gardons, breams, and ablettes.

5.5.7 Twenty-five years of effort and financial sacrifice today receive their deserved reward,the people of Annecy can be proud that their lake is undeniably one of the purest in France."

5.6.3.5   The purification brought about by the new system of sewage pipes does not render unnecessary the complementary role of the reeds in the purification of the lake, especially at the entry point of the tributaries which are not included in the sanitation system.  The most recent analyses by INRA show that the quantity of phosphorus carried into the lake remains at a high level and may well exceed the amount supportable given the combination of pollution and the lake's weakening powers of self purification.

5.6.3.6   The reeds are also a natural habitat for many forms of life.  They are a place for fish such as brochets, carp, bream, perch, and gardon to find refuge and lay their eggs.  Many types of bird make their nests there, notably grebes and coots.  The purple heron finds in the marshes of Saint-Jorioz its single nesting place in all the Haute-Savoie region.

5.6.3.7   The reeds are also a place for hibernation where thousands of birds, especially ducks and teal find refuge each winter and an indispensible stepping stone on their migration routes.

Look at the most recent numbers from an inventory carried out on Lake Annecy on 24 January 1982, in particular:  2500 coots, 300 crested grebes, 300 common pochards, 160 tufted ducks, 230 mallard, 70 red crested pochards, and 120 mute swans.

5.6.3.8   But finally we should not overlook the fact that the reeds are simply a pleasure for people to gaze upon, something restful for the eyes which perhaps symbolises a vibrant and mysterious nature in such close contact with the town:  the reed beds are an element of diversity and variation in the landscape of the shoreline, all the more precious since in the bay of Albigny there are barely a handful of strips of reeds remaining.

The reed beds are under threat

5.6.4     During recent times the reed beds have been destroyed without scruple, most often to make room for the creation or extension of ports, and beaches.  However, it is possible for the ports to be rebuilt on pontoons along a narrow chanel which can spare the reed beds on either side. This is the case in many sectors especially in Sevrier and Saint-Jorioz."

Saving the Lake

Doctor P L  Servettaz, assistant mayor in charge of Annecy hygiene bureau

5.7    "Saving Lake Annecy became a reality during the years 1955 - 1957.  Before that, in 1943, E Hubault wrote, and this derserved the attention and consideration for those in responsibility:  "At lake Annecy wastewater is discharged directly into the lake without any treatment, and has recently begun to give the lake an undeniably eutrophic character directly caused by human interference." 

5.7.1   This was a solemn warning for those who concerned themselves with the future of Lake Annecy, however it was ignored by all. 

5.7.2   The interest which I had in this lake crystalised all this pessimistic information, and this new and grave knowledge  filled me with anxiety. 

5.7.3   The lake, formerly oligotrophic, was being fed with phosphates from detergents, agricultural fertilisers and the chemical industry.  They say that one gram of phosphate enables the growth of 3 kilogrammes of algae of which just one kilo absorbs the oxygen of 15 cubic metres of water.  To this fundamental element was added excessive nitrogen deposited by large amounts of untreated organic material, chlorides, sulphides, and the lake was becoming bit by bit eutrophic.  But thanks to its characteristically colourful flora and fauna the people who lived around the lake saw nothing, apart from the fishermen.

5.7.4   And so, with the ancestral qualities of the water being degraded under the influence of human activity, it was time to sound the alert, to begin a crusade, to recruit partisans for the lake, to inform the riverside inhabitants of this grave threat hanging over their collective property.  I did my best during these years to raise consciousness, open the eyes of the blind,  and motivate people to come to the aid of these doomed waters.  It was necessary to separate polluted water from fresh drinking water.  

5.7.5   The ultimate aim was to cut the lake off entirely from all human waste by constructing a protective belt around the lake to prevent any future discharge of pollutants into the lake."

Achievements of the Syndicate and their cost - Louis Lagrange

5.8  "The Syndicate's transactions with land have been for many years very diversified.  To begin with they only concerned acquisition of land destined for the construction of the water treatment plant and the factory for processing household waste, the installation of pumping stations and the digging of ditches for the sewage pipes.  Then,  with the increase in range of tasks delegated to it by the communes, the Syndicate began to take on the role of an agency to advise and assist its member communes in conformity with their statutes.

5.8.1   Changing significantly its profile the Syndicate is now seen by the communes as a permanent tool capable of carrying out, with the help of the elected representatives, very diverse tasks and missions and  whose structures prove in the end very flexible and extremely well adapted to the actual needs of the communes.

5.8.2   To classify acquisitions currently made by the Syndicate, they are grouped under two broad headings according to their nature: acquisitions to be held for future development (Land reserve) and those preliminary to improvement works.

Land reserves

5.8.3   A land reserve is defined in general as a step in anticipation of a future use.  In practice a policy of land management for the medium or long term gives the commune assurance of an ultimately more coherent development.

5.8.4   Additionally opportunistic reasons often motivate acquisitions of land reserves.  Unexpected offers for sale by private landowners, for example in the course of settling inheritance matters, often give one-off opportunities which could be interesting to take up.

5.8.5   In short, where an acquisiton of land preliminary to an improvement project depends on either an amicable sale or an expropriation, the commencement of works can be delayed by several years.  To counter this difficulty certain pieces of land are acquired without immediate use, and the commune therefore establishes a portfolio of property which enables it to assure its future development,  and to carry out in due course, without obstacles relating to property title, improvement works which will have been decided in the local urban development plan.

Achievements of the Syndicate and their cost  (continued)

5.8.7   Another advantage of this policy, is that purchasing in anticipation of the final use of this land can minimise the haphazard fluctuations  in land costs in the final budget for the project.

5.8.8   In the area of land reserves the Syndicate's activity is naturally, but not exclusively, focused on the banks of the lake or its immediate surroundings.

5.8.9   The Syndicate's role consists in seeing through acquisitions decided by the communes, in putting financing in place, and in assuring effective dealing with all formalities.

5.8.10  To date, the total area acquired by the Syndicate for land reserves has grown to 40 hectares

Improvement works

5.8.11  Acquisitions assigned to the Syndicate for improvement works range from the least demanding kind (simple opening up to the public with the provision of some basic equipment) to much more complex structures (the multipurpose exhibition hall in Menthon-Saint-Bernard, for example.)

5.8.12   In this way the Syndicate has to date participated in the acquisition of 36 hectares required for various improvement projects.

5.8.13   To this can be added another 0.12 to 0.59 hectares of land purchased in 7 communes for the construction of pumping stations or digging drainage ditches."

Conclusion - the next 35 years

5.10     In this way the first twenty-five years of SILA were summarised by Louis Lagrange.  But that was by no means the end of the work of SILA or of our story as the following chapters go on to show.

5.10.1   Seventy years ago,  Paul-Louis Servettaz had a vision of a lake completely protected from the huge volume of waste produced by the surrounding urban population, and pioneered efforts to save the lake. Senator-Mayor of Annecy Charles Bosson was quickly persuaded of his vision and fully grasped what needed to be done.  He organised the local communes and arranged the technical and financial means to deal with safeguarding the lake, and then ensured it could become a reality by overseeing the creation of a legal association of the communes around the lake, nowadays called SILA, necessary to carry out such a formidable task.

5.10.2  SILA’s inaugural president, Albert Janin, took the first organisational steps: geological survey, legal review, liaison with other utilities’ networks, preparation of a finance and engineering plan. Unfortunately, Janin passed away all  too suddenly. It was left to the next SILA president, Louis Lagrange, 1962 – 1989 to bring the project into reality by devoting a lifetime of work to the task.

5.10.3   Lagrange left an impressive legacy:  a network of hundreds of kilometers of sewage pipes completely encircling the lake, together with a purpose-built wastewater processing plant at the mouth of the lake at Cran-Gevrier.  He had also seen the need to extend SILA’s responsibilities in order to complete the job of safeguarding the lake, to include a) regular scientific monitoring of the lake, b) powers to protect the use of land bordering the lake and c) most importantly, responsibility for processing not just wastewater but household waste.  In line with these environmental responsibilities he had also taken over responsibility for the ‘Green Pathway’ - a cycle path, the first 11.5 km of which had been laid down by the State along a disused railway line from Sevrier to Bredennaz.   But though Louis Lagrange succeeding in completing, against all odds,  the construction  of a sewer mains around the lake and a new treatment plant to process the wastewater and had worked tirelessly to protect the lake, when he stood down after nearly thirty years of unflagging endeavour, there was still so much to be done.  The population of Annecy continued to rise, the tourists continued to arrive, and, not least,  environmental laws also at last began to arrive (as, Cécile Pietu has pointed out, in no small part thanks to the example of Lake Annecy itself!).

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