The Furan valley in brief

The town of Vals les Bains is a tourist and spa commune of Ardèche Méridionale. It has a population of 3,500. The most urbanised part is at the end of the narrow Volane valley. This commune has the special feature of having over 140 springs of mineral water concentrated in a limited area. The town of Vals les Bains and the Syndicat Intercommunal pour le THERmalisme et l’Environnement (SITHERE, (local authority joint board for thermalism and the environment)) are partners to the SEMEAU project.

The Vals les Bains site was chosen to specifically focus on the water quantity-orientated management demonstrative actions in the Mediterranean context, to design and deploy tools designed to boost awareness and training in water resource protection and to conduct pilot communication operations. The purpose is to propose good practices or even alternative solutions designed to limit the use of or do without products such as fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides which risk damaging the quality of the surface and groundwater in the long time.