The Pilot Rivers celebrate 20 years at Lacq

The Pilot Rivers were built in 1999 at the TotalEnergies Platform for Experimental Research in Lacq (PERL). Their main mission is to qualify the quality of a water course using chemical and biological indicators. The facility comprises 16 artificial water courses, each measuring 40m long, and supplied by the Gave de Pau, which, just like in a laboratory, can be used to test methods and protocols of interest at an almost natural scale.

25 years of research as the river runs by

In 25 years, the Pilot Rivers have helped deepen understanding and anticipate the impact of global changes to the planet, which may affect the quality and quantity of continental waters. The 2019 partnership with the Ecotoxicology chair at the University of Pau and the Pays de l’Adour (UPPA) was a watershed moment in the history of Pilot Rivers, making the Béarn region a focal point in terms of ecotoxicology expertise. Groundbreaking in the 2000s, the infrastructure was created to plan ahead for regulations governing water monitoring and is a true replication of the biodiversity of a river. It can be used to measure the potential toxicity of different compounds and to test different water monitoring systems.

"Pilot Rivers is a facility that mirrors reality much more than a series of laboratory tests can. The volume of water in the channels irrigated by the Gave de Pau helps us significantly improve the level of detail in the studies undertaken, thereby generating prestigious academic partnerships and major progress as regards monitoring the water from industrial facilities," explains Patrick Baldoni-Andrey Head of the Environment and Sustainable Development department at the PERL. "Water monitoring systems have considerably evolved over the last 25 years, from chemical to biological and then genomic-based monitoring techniques."

From studying ecosystems to environmental DNA

The first studies, between 2000 and 2010, were dedicated to understanding how ecosystems and biodiversity work, and to the relationships between the different trophic (food chain) levels, with tests on organisms ranging from benthic invertebrates that populate the riverbeds (insects, mollusks, worms, etc.) to fish.

Between 2014 and 2016, valvometry was one of the key milestones in the development of Pilot Rivers. The process consists in determining water quality depending on how fast a mussel opens and closes. Developed by researchers at the CNRS in Bordeaux and Pau, the process was tested in the Pilot Rivers, then applied on some of TotalEnergies’ industrial sites. As from 2019, water snails were evaluated in partnership with the UPPA. "Thanks to analytical techniques, just as the life of a tree can be decoded from studying its bark, we are able to study the history of water quality by analyzing the thickness of water snail shells," Patrick Baldoni-Andrey explains.

Lastly, the most recent and most high-growth development, is monitoring biodiversity through the study of environmental DNA in water, sediments and biofilms. "We are working at molecular scale, those incredibly tiny organisms that enable us to gather the highest quantity of data. Rather than catching salmon, trout, shrimps and mussels, we detect and read their DNA directly in the water," affirms Yannick Corseillis, an engineer and Manager of the Ecotox laboratory in the Environment and Sustainable Development department at the PERL.

A five-year productive partnership with the UPPA

In 2019, the Pilot Rivers opened up to the academic world with the signature of a partnership with the UPPA. “We wanted to pool our competencies to help ecotoxicology research, with the idea of developing new bio-indicators,” explains Séverine Le Faucheur, Lecturer, Researcher and ecotoxicologist in charge of the Ecotox chair at the UPPA.

The Ecotox chair currently comprises over 20 projects. “Our work would be impossible without the Pilot Rivers that enable us to work with native organisms living in their own natural habitat. Our results are therefore extremely pertinent to understanding the impact of global changes on freshwater ecosystems,” the researcher continues. Over the last five years, the chair has served to add further competencies in terms of in situ impact measurements on TotalEnergies sites: accuracy of eco-toxicological data, proof of low toxicity and zero impact, planning ahead for regulatory developments and the use of genomic tools.

TotalEnergies’ Pilot Rivers has also seen around a dozen experts join the workforce, with very specific competencies in biodiversity and water course ecology - profiles which are few and far between in the industrial world at the heart of the Béarn region. They then provide input for environment departments in entities developing biogas or low-carbon power generation sites to help them meet the regulatory requirements of the energy transition.

"This year celebrated the Company’s 100^th anniversary, showcasing its pioneering spirit and we have chosen to celebrate 25 years of innovation with our teams on the site at Lacq. The date for this event - September 27, 2024, fell on the same day as the "Sustainab’All" day at TotalEnergies. It was an opportunity to highlight the dedication of PERL employees to environmental conservation topics, a commitment supported by the many TotalEnergies executives present at Lacq for the day of celebration" concludes Catherine Leroy, Director of the PERL.

 
Find out more:

• The PERL
• Areas of expertise at the TotalEnergies site in Pau (sustainable development) 
• The Ecotox chair 
• Our local partnerships