The Vendée department will soon experiment with the “Jourdain” project, a pilot project in Europe, to transform wastewater into drinking water with the details of Jacky Dallet, president of the “Vendée Eau” union. Several departments are currently affected by drought and water restriction measures have already been taken in certain areas to save the resource.
With global warming, this type of situation is set to recur regularly, hence the need to think about ways to recycle water.
Currently, less than 1% of polluted water is recycled, which is very little, especially since the majority of this water is not intended for human consumption.
The Vendée, which is one of the departments most sensitive to water stress, will therefore launch the experimentation of the “Jourdain” project in a few weeks. A unique project in Europe, led by the water syndicate of Vendée VENDEE EAU and the VEOLIA group.
The Jourdain project is a global circular water recovery program. Instead of being discharged into the open sea, part of the water from the Sables d’Olonne wastewater treatment plant will be recovered and treated in order to be reinjected into the drinking water circuits. This is an unprecedented project because currently, the reuse of wastewater and treated water is only possible for agricultural irrigation or watering green spaces.
The water from the Sables d’Olonne wastewater treatment plant will be treated in a refining unit currently under construction in the Plesses area of Château-d’Olonne. It will be filtered and then disinfected twice, in order to eliminate micropollutants such as drug residues or substances from household products, but also microbiological compounds such as viruses or bacteria.
This water will then be routed to the Jaunay dam through a 27 kilometer pipeline. It will be discharged into a vegetated area and then mixed with the waters of the river before slowly reaching the Jaunay drinking water production plant, which will then make this water completely consumable.
The refining unit will be put into operation in the coming weeks and then the long period of experimentation will begin.
During this year of observation, only 150 cubic meters per hour will be treated and then discharged into the sea. Depending on the results of this first year of operation, the unit should then be authorized for three years to discharge part of treated water upstream of the Jaunay dam. From 2027, the unit will be able to treat 600 cubic meters of water per hour.
“It is today that we must prepare the world of 2050.”
Jacky Dallet, President of Vendée Waterat franceinfo
The president of Vendée Eau recognizes that the primary idea of this Jourdain project is to secure the water supply of the Vendée. Jacky Dallet explains that the department must respond both to ecological constraints, but also to a permanent increase in population. “The rains are more and more random and complicate the filling of the 13 reservoirs of the department” emphasizes the president of Vendée Eau.
The Vendée is one of the departments most sensitive to periods of drought. The department is 90% dependent on surface water accumulated in reservoirs, which are very sensitive to the consequences of global warming.
“Ultimately, the idea is to find by 2030/2050, 8 million cubic meters of water that are today discharged into the sea”, explains Jacky Dallet.
If the reuse of wastewater proves to be an interesting avenue for the future, it will undoubtedly be necessary to break certain taboos and convince the population that this water, even if it comes from the toilets, is not dirty, once treated, and without probably cleaner than river water.