Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker The Petit Camargue lies in the Languedoc-Roussillon Region southern France between the Mediterranean Sea and the right side of the Petit Rhone one of the two arms of the Rhône River Delta the Petite Camargue is largely given over to agriculture and fisheries whilst its very special flora and fauna make it a haven for wildlife and tourism With large areas of the Petite Camargue lying some two meters below sea level it is prone to regular flooding resulting from the rising levels of the rivers Vistre The earth of the wetlands is naturally saturated so in the event of great floods when water courses rise above river and drainage channel banks some 300km² of the Petite Camargue can be transformed into a massive overflow area this means that the water gathers here until it flows or drains off again a process that can take a considerable amount of time and at a considerable cost to the local communities both manually and by drainage structures for several centuries with the flood water being initially pumped from the flooded areas and then fed into the Rhône where it flows into the sea these pumping stations have proved to be inadequate when put to the ultimate test Intense flooding occurred in 1993 and 1994 Syndicat Mixte de la Camargue Gardoise (SMCG) was established with the eight communities affected to address the problem Eventually in 1998 a further public body was created to thoroughly investigate how to reduce the risks of flooding flooding of the Rhône upstream occurred and this had a serious affect on the region This was followed in December 2003 when flooding on the Rhône and its main tributaries took on considerable which runs in part along the Petite Camargue even greater that the two floods of 1840 and 1856 which had massive effects on the region which is situated several kilometres north of the Petite Camargue In the lower course of the Rhône it took several days Some residential areas were four meters underwater and caused damage worth an estimated €300 million and took more than three months to pump clear As a result of this human and environmental catastrophe a project – ‘Camargue Gaudoise’ was initiated in 2005 which although not being able to completely prevent flooding The main objective of the project was to shorten the time in which the area from Saint-Gilles to Le Grau du Roi remains underwater That plan involved the construction of 11 hydraulic stations five reinforced pumping stations and one completely new pumping station This infrastructure investment considerably increases the volume of water that can be drained and significantly reduces the length of time that water remains in overflow areas by draining the land more quickly Due to the complexity of the project and the number of organisations and suppliers involved work did not commence on the construction until 2011 Whilst there were many engineering and environmental assessments to be made the central issue to the success of the project was the hydraulics and their infrastructure It was here that pump manufacturer KSB S.A.S having earlier extended the pump station at La Souteyranne/Liviers in 2006 with additional pumps from its Amacan range and then securing the project contract in 2010 KSB’s Amacan P series submersible motor pump is used extensively around the world for industrial and agricultural water supply stormwater and flood prevention stations and the water and wastewater treatment industries wet-installed single entry axial open impeller pump where the impeller is located in a tubular casing immersed in the water the pump has a maximum flow capacity of up to 7,000l/sec and a maximum head of 12m Low vibration hydraulics and a vortex-free flow due to the inlet ribs and wide bellmouth ensure that the pump is hydraulically optimised Operating efficiency is provided by the slim motor that minimises discharge tube flow losses From the outset of its involvement in the project recognised that its responsibilities would go far beyond merely supply and installing the required number of pumps Technical adaptations to the various pumping stations would be necessary in order to provide optimum performance for the pumps Examples of this include extending the La Fosse pumping station to increase drainage by a further 3m³/s; planning and equipping a new pumping station at the end of the Canal de Capette to increase drainage by a further 9m³/sec and refurbishing the pumping stations at Souteyranne/Mas Livers Sylvéréal and Bourgidou/Aigues-Mortes in order to adapt to their new drainage volumes Each pumping station had its own special requirements to simulate flow conditions to evaluate and test its civil engineering structures in order to ensure that the pumps would fulfil their duties it was necessary to construct special inlet chambers in the feed basin in which the pumps were installed to counter the vortex effects on the water surface which could damage the pumps a special ‘tulip’- shaped cone was designed and constructed at the end of the tube in which the pump was installed in order to give greater suction Coupled with all these engineering works was the need to equip each pumping station with secure control panels for the remote operation of the pumps At the completion of the engineering and construction programme KSB engineers had installed and commissioned 13 Amacan pumps with flows ranging from 0.5m³/sec to 4m³/sec increasing the drainage pumping capability of the Petit Camargue from 19.8m³/sec to 45.3m³/sec this project proved to an exacting examination not just of its pumps but also its hydraulic and civil engineering capabilities the Department Garde and the ‘Syndicat Mixte Départmental des Milieux Aquatiques’ the SMCG now has a robust flood prevention scheme that is capable of handling the flood levels encountered in 2003 Free access to this content is for qualifying individuals only Corporate and institutional access requires an appropriate license or subscription For more information contact institutions@markallengroup.com Four Artists from the Neutral Strip or No Man's Land, are using art to bring awareness to the colorful history culture and landscape of a part of Louisiana with which many may not be familiar And they are doing it at an international level with an exhibit that opens July 23 at La Salle Carrefour 2000 in the city of le Grau Du Roi in France where it will stay until Aug The show was originally scheduled for 2020 but was canceled because of COVID "Quatre artistes du coeur de la bande neutre (Four Artists From the Neutral Strip)" features the work of Leesville artists Tony McDonald, Isabelle Massart-Bursh and Rickie Smith and Deridder artist Joey Governale.  "The exhibition hall is a big art gallery owned by the city of le Grau Du Roi," said Massart-Bursh who is currently in Europe. "They organize different exhibitions all year long." "This exhibition takes place in Port Camargue which is a district of Le Grau-du-Roi," stated Robert Gourdel council member for culture in Le Grau-du-Roi "They are exhibited in one of the main cultural and exhibition places of the town thanks to the municipal political will to bring art closer to what makes the very essence of the town - the sea and the openness to the world that it underlies." The history of No Man's Land"When the Louisiana Purchase was finalized there was the disputed strip of land that these parishes against the Sabine River that neither Spain nor France could decide who owned," McDonald explained about the area's history He said Spain owned everything west of the Sabine while France owned Louisiana and the rest of the territory in the Louisiana Purchase "They didn't know what to do with this little strip," he said.  The present-day parishes that are in that strip are Allen they had a gentleman's agreement that neither of them would own it," he added They were going to leave it alone and settle the matter later the area was not governed nor were there any laws so people who wanted to live without government interference flocked to the area More: Alexandria woman dives into music, moviemaking, theater as she journeys through grief "That included thieves and robbers and cutthroats and pirates and people that just wanted to be out from government rule," he said "And that's how it flourished for three years." said McDonald, the United States reached an agreement with France and it was made part of the Louisiana purchase in 1803 Massart-Bursh is from Belgium and vacations in Europe every summer to visit family "And her sister has a condo down in this town," he explained "I visited several exhibitions over the year and was impressed with the quality of their shows," said Massart-Bursh of La Salle Carrefour 2000 "We approached them with a portfolio of our idea of an exhibition and they were very receptive." "They liked the meanings and they liked the idea of tying it to No Man's Land and the fact that were geographically similar," said McDonald "Our Camargue landscapes are very similar to those of Louisiane," stated Gourdel same varieties of plant and animal. That convinced our selection committee to accept this exhibition for part of this summer." "This part of France called Carmague is a natural region located between the Mediterranean Sea and the two branches of the Rhône Delta," said Massart-Bursh "The Camargue presents flat and varied landscapes rice fields and wild lagoons you can discover wild horses Crayfish are not as tasty a meal as in Louisiana but it is possible to discover them in some swamps." the sea is gaining ground every day," she said of Carmague. "On average the coast has been declining by 4 meters per year for half a century." It's possible to walk into pine forests as you leave the coast a big Camargue," stated Gourdel. "A distant family ressemblance This is for us the meaning of this exhibition." Massart-Bursh came to Louisiana through the CODIFIL (Council for the Development of French in Louisiana) program to teach French She resides in Leesville where she teaches art at Leesville Junior High School.  "This part of Louisiana is where you get into the rolling hills before you get into North Louisiana so it's quite a bit different from everywhere else," said McDonald These parishes were over forested and stripped of their pine forests and left as barren prairies and now it's  all regrowing back." His landscape paintings of the area will be featured in the exhibit along with those of Massart-Bursh and Governale The exhibit will also feature abstract paintings by Massart-Bursh Governale will have graphic bird and landscape fine art images painted on aluminum He also hand paints Louisiana-themed signs More: "The ELP" movie has plenty of familiar faces, places from Alexandria, Marksville Even though Smith has images in the exhibit that were taken at the Mamou Courir de Mardi Gras which is outside of No Man's Land he included them because it is a very unique part of Louisiana's state culture "I think it's going to help the people in France appreciate a part of what was brought from that country to Louisiana," said Smith. "And hopefully it's still recognized to this day in its most pure form." he said they were disappointed that the first exhibit was canceled in 2020 but for Smith it gave him the opportunity of extra time to make the decision of what he wanted to feature "I'm glad that we had the extra almost two years from the opening of the exhibit because it gave me an opportunity to go through a lot of my work and actually reevaluate what I wanted to be in the exhibit," said Smith "To have this exhibition of artists from Louisiana from our distant French cousins and ancestors who made Louisiana as they made the Camargue to a population of 120,000 people who stays on vacation daily during the summer is an honor for us and a small homage to them," stated Gourdel The No Man's Land Commission has partnered with them and is providing funding They will also send people to France for the opening of the exhibit to do cross marketing and work with the tourism industry "We are very existed and fortunate to be able to share our area of Louisiana with our French friends," said Massart-Bursh talking about No Man's Land and the history of what went on over here," said McDonald They were not aware of the No Man's Land history but that is not surprising "I'm finding that very few people in Louisiana know about it," he said. "But we've raised awareness with this exhibit - I promise you." The show will return in November and will be on exhibit at the Alexandria Museum of Art For more information, check out their Facebook page Four Artists from the Neutral Strip The TimesThe first few hours on the Rhône à Sète canal in the Camargue were among the most tense I’ve known on a holiday It wasn’t the handling of the boat (modern craft are as easy to manage as a fairground dodgem) nor was it the traditional holiday bickering over choice of beds featureless expanse of the Camargue stubbornly refused to cede ground What landmarks there were — an abandoned fisherman’s hut its faded layers of peeling paint picked out against the cloudless sky or a tower atop the fortified ramparts of Aigues-Mortes — seemed to hover on the horizon for ever Isn’t the start to a holiday so often like that My personal journey to acceptance came in three stages For the first hour I found myself straining my sinews as I sat at the wheel as if coaxing a Morris Minor into maintaining momentum up a sharp incline pondering the interminable hours I would have to spend steering the boat (it’s remarkable how much attention this requires) as the family lounged around the deck it was as if my eyes had adjusted after stepping from shade into bright light and I started to take in the untrammelled beauty of my surroundings The harbour town of Le Grau-du-RoiGETTY IMAGESThe Camargue’s famous white horses (“actually a white horse is known as a grey,” my 11-year-old corrected me) trotted alongside our boat flocks of pink flamingos stood immobile in the wetlands that surrounded us and I started to pick out other riverbank life: families of otters and ducks taking early-morning dips herons and egrets foraging at the water’s edge No wonder the Camargue is known as a wonderland for nature lovers The 60-mile canal connects the Rhône in the west with Sète on the south coast It took 60 years to dig out in the 18th century and you sense you are witnessing a landscape that has changed little in the intervening years with huge commercial barges ploughing up and down tree-lined stretches I remember from teenage holidays on the Canal du Midi The Rhône à Sète does have two big advantages besides the huge vistas: there are no locks and you are never far from some of the best beaches in the south of France If you have a young family in tow or feel the heat and knowing that you are never more than a 20-minute cycle ride from a dip in the Med makes the unrelenting summer heat all the more bearable We had picked up our vessel and bikes from the boatyard at Saint-Gilles With a full week you can make it all the way through the saltwater lagoon of Étang de Thau and on to Port Cassafières on the Canal du Midi which fellow travellers told us was the more interesting and picturesque section But with only four nights we would have to double back at Frontignan where a hydraulic bridge guards the lagoon’s entrance fortified in the 13th century by Louis IX and the embarkation point of the Seventh and Eighth Crusades On a beautiful sunlit evening we moored beneath its ancient walls and wandered its pretty streets (at €37 it was the most expensive berth of the trip Aigues-Mortes probably wears its tourism most heavily with its knight-themed sweetshops and fashion boutiques but it still has a historic charm and you can easily escape the crowds by ducking down shady side streets to eat beneath bougainvillea amid the chatter of locals The next morning we got on our bikes and headed down the towpath to Le Grau-du-Roi a picturesque harbour town with echoes of past grandeur and now a happy hubbub of cafés and ice-cream shops It also offers access to the wild dunes of Espiguette Ernest Hemingway was such a fan (of the town The dunes of EspiguetteALAMYBack on the boat an island marooned between the canal and a spit of beach and the unlikely location of an 11th-century cathedral a summer escape for the pontiffs during the Avignon Papacy I can see the draw — it’s an extraordinary setting and feels as if it’s on the limits of the known world the ruined cathedral hosts a medieval music festival without hooking up to water or electricity plans to enjoy supper on deck were abandoned when the Camargue’s notorious mosquitoes locked in on us and we had to retreat below deck with the windows shut It wasn’t the most comfortable night in the stifling heat and perhaps explains why most opt to stay in official moorings in the towns Next morning we set off early for Frontignan We had hoped to make a quick foray into the lagoon to a fishing village and lunch on local oysters and mussels or visit the Noilly Prat cellars at Marseillan but the bridge is raised only twice a day and the timings didn’t work so we took the bikes on the train for the 15-minute journey to Sète instead it’s an unpretentious working port dissected by canals around the hill of Mont Saint-Clair well worth a visit for its sandy coves and restaurants by the harbour wall By now it was time to set the boat for home a purpose-built holiday town and marina where we chanced on a very good market and more seemingly endless sandy beaches and then a final staging night at the tiny village of Gallician and then finally back to Saint-Gilles for 10am the next day it felt an age since we had last been there I swear I saw the hands on my watch speed up as we readjusted to normal time Need to knowTony Turnbull was a guest of Le Boat. A four-night short break on a Calypso-class boat, sleeping up to eight, costs from £1,131 in July. Daily bike hire costs from £7 for adults and £4 for children (leboat.co.uk; 023 9280 9136) Daniel Lloyd (Cervélo TestTeam) is safe following a crash in the final kilometre of the opening stage in the Etoile de Bessèges today in Le Grau du Roi but rest is needed before England's Lloyd can continue training and racing "I am just really badly bruised and painful down the first couple of vertebrae," said Lloyd "I don't think I will be racing tomorrow unless I make a big improvement overnight." Lloyd was helping position the team's sprinters Brett Lancaster and Dominique Rollin at the front when the crash occurred when two tangled riders swerved in front of him and left him with no choice but to ride off the road "I knew I was coming down and so I veered off in the grass to soften the landing I somehow hit the grass head first and then slid on my stomach The team's director Alex Sansvega and the team doctor accompanied Lloyd during his three hours at the hospital They will likely see him off to the airport tomorrow and home to Bournemouth to rest ahead of the Tour of Oman The Tour of Oman was in fact supposed to be Lloyd's first race of the season before the team called him to France because they needed replacements for Thor Hushovd and Iñigo Cuesta He believes that with two days of rest he should be back on track for the Tour of Oman and his early season's goals: the Classics Lloyd in hospital for check following Besseges crash Cummings and Kennaugh contest Etoile de Besseges Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1 *Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1 Gregor BrownSocial Links NavigationGregor Brown is an experienced cycling journalist He has covered races all over the world for over a decade - following the Giro His love of cycling began with freestyle and BMX before the 1998 Tour de France led him to a deep appreciation of the road racing season.