Environmental impacts of hydroelectric power and other anthropogenic developments on the hydromorphology and ecology of the Durance channel and the Etang de Berre, southeast France

The generation of electricity through hydropower can, along with other anthropogenic activities, degrade river hydromorphology and ecosystems. In this case, water for power generation is diverted from the River Durance to a canal, which services a chain of 17 power stations, with the lower three being in the catchment of the Etang de Berre. This means that excess water and sediments are discharged into the salt-water lagoon with enormous consequences for ecosystems there. This paper summarizes the impacts of HEP and other human activities on both the river and lagoonal systems. It also considers agency and government attempts to understand and counter the degradation of these systems, both to date and in the future, with the latter catering for the potential impacts of future human development and global warming.

► HEP and other human impacts degrade river morphology and ecosystems in the Durance.
► Durance water and other human impacts degrade Berre coastal lagoon ecology.
► Sustainable recovery of Durance thwarted by HEP infrastructure investments.
► The lagoon's ecosystems recover slowly in spite of reductions in Durance inflows.