The Dam Removal in the Sélune River (Lower-Normandy, France): A Long-Term Restoration Program at the Watershed Scale

Many dam removal projects have been conducted and monitored by scientists all around the world. In France, a 16-year scientific program has been initiated to monitor the removal of two big dams in the Sélune River (Normandy) planned in 2018. Sélune River flows through an agricultural landscape into the Bay of Mont Saint-Michel (English Channel, UNESCO’s world heritage site).

This project aims to evaluate the risks and benefits of dam removals on the ecological function of running waters and riparian areas, to determine the mechanisms of aquatic habitat restoration and fish population recovery, and to provide information on economical and societal changes in the Sélune valley. The study includes four research fields: (i) Sediment fluxes, hydrogeological function, geomorphology (ii) Characterization of aquatic biocenosis and food web (iii) Riparian dynamics and landscape ecology and (iv) Monitoring of landscape dynamics, spatial practices and river representation.

16 scientific units and 25 stakeholders partners are involved in this program. The achievement of the program includes two periods pre- (6 years) and post removal (10 years).

The scientific program started in 2012 with studies on aquatic communities, fluxes and geomorphology topics to establish a complete diagnostic of the initial function of the river.