Correcting the Rhone and the Valaisans : three centuries of works and debate - article ; n°3 ; vol.92, pg 62-72

Gabriel Bender

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Revue de géographie alpine - Année 2004 - Volume 92 - Numéro 3 - Pages 62-72
Abstract : The steep sides of the Rhone valley as it winds its way through the Alps (about 1 50 km from the Glacier to Lake Geneva) constitute its main geographical characteristic. The river's regime is strongly influenced by the amount of water held in the form of snow and ice, making it one of the most characteristic glacial rivers of Europe. For more than three centuries, the river has been subjected to numerous flood protection and valley drainage schemes. Each project reveals the social dynamics involved in such schemes and underlines the political dimension of relations between man and his environment. The 18th century made declarations but failed to act, the 19th century conquered but was weakened by its divisions, the 20th century was arrogant in its convictions, while the 21st century has given birth to more modest river engineering policies where the engineers feel that the river should be given back at least part of its due.
11 pages

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• Sciences et techniques

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• Publié par: REVUE_DE_GEOGRAPHIE_ALPINE
• Publié le: 01 janvier 2004
• Nombre de lectures: 11
• Langue: English

Extrait

M. Gabriel Bender
Correcting the Rhone and the Valaisans : three centuries of
works and debate
In: Revue de géographie alpine. 2004, Tome 92 N°3. pp. 62-72.
Abstract : The steep sides of the Rhone valley as it winds its way through the Alps (about 1 50 km from the Glacier to Lake
Geneva) constitute its main geographical characteristic. The river's regime is strongly influenced by the amount of water held in
the form of snow and ice, making it one of the most characteristic glacial rivers of Europe. For more than three centuries, the river
has been subjected to numerous flood protection and valley drainage schemes. Each project reveals the social dynamics
involved in such schemes and underlines the political dimension of relations between man and his environment. The 18th century
made declarations but failed to act, the 19th century conquered but was weakened by its divisions, the 20th century was arrogant
in its convictions, while the 21st century has given birth to more modest river engineering policies where the engineers feel that
the river should be given back at least part of its due.
Citer ce document / Cite this document :
Bender Gabriel. Correcting the Rhone and the Valaisans : three centuries of works and debate. In: Revue de géographie alpine.
2004, Tome 92 N°3. pp. 62-72.
doi : 10.3406/rga.2004.2309
http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/rga_0035-1121_2004_num_92_3_2309the Rhone and the Valaisans: Correcting
three centuries of works and debate
Gabriel Bender
Sociologist and historian - Haute école Santé Social Valais
schemes and underlines the political dimensAbstract : The steep sides of the Rhone
ion of relations between man and his envivalley as it winds its way through the Alps
ronment. The 18th century made (about 1 50 km from the Glacier to Lake Ge
declarations but failed to act, the 19th cenneva) constitute its main geographical char
tury conquered but was weakened by its diviacteristic. The river's regime is strongly
sions, the 20th century was arrogant in its influenced by the amount of water held in
convictions, while the 21st century has given the form of snow and ice, making it one of
birth to more modest river engineering polithe most characteristic glacial rivers of Eu
cies where the engineers feel that the river rope.
should be given back at least part of its due. For more than three centuries, the river has
been subjected to numerous flood protection
: River correction, Valais, envand valley drainage schemes. Each project re
ironmental policy, dykes veals the social dynamics involved in such
In June 2000, a document was issued presenting a summary of the studies
commissioned with different engineering design firms in the wake of the serious
Rhone floods in the Valais in 1987 and 1993. The document opens with an appeal from
the senior member of the Council of State Jean-Jacques Rey-Bellet, head of the
Department of Transport, Equipment and the Environment and minister in charge of
this dossier. A coincidence of schedules, administrative reorganisation and political
power struggles resulted in the grouping together under a single administrative banner
and under the direction of a minister who was also a qualified engineer, fields as varied
as public transport, river monitoring, management of built heritage, historic
monuments, archaeology, forests and the countryside. Subjects that might at first glance
appear disparate in fact belong to the same system, especially in the Valais where the
Rhone River, the railway line and the roads compete for space along the often-narrow
valley floor (picture 1). Furthermore, the destiny of the railway is so closely linked with
the damming of the river that the historian can no longer work out the exact order of
events. One thing that is certain, however, is that each Rhone correction has shed light
on social dynamics and clarified the political dimension of man's relationship with his
environment. The 18th century proclaimed without acting, the 19th century conquered
but was weakened by the divisions that ate away at it, while the 20th century was
arrogant and sure in its convictions. The 21st century has given birth to a modest version
where the minister-engineer feels that the river should be given back at least part of its
due.
62
Journal of alpine research 2004 №3 CORRECTING THE RHONE AND THE VALAISANS: THREE CENTURIES OF WORKS AND DEBATE
The Rhone, a lazy river
The confinement of the river in the narrow steep-sided valley is the Rhone's main
geographical characteristic. It rises in the Martigny region at an altitude of 500 metres,
surrounded by mountains rising to 3000 and even 4000 metres. At this altitude, most
of the precipitation is in the form of snow, some of which is retained by the glaciers. The
river's regime, like that of its main tributaries, thus varies considerably depending on
how much precipitation is retained as snow and ice. This makes the Rhone in the Valais
region one of the most characteristic glacial rivers in Europe. In winter, the flows are at
their lowest, while in June when the snow melts the river rises and in July and August
the glacial tributaries reach their maximum flow rates.
The Rhone's regime is also dependent on the alluvial cones of its tributaries with which
it is in competition and which force it to meander. When that is not possible, it forms
lakes, which over the centuries have become filled with sand and stones. The
longitudinal profile of the river is thus irregular; there is practically no slope and
numerous depressions. The slope of the Rhone between Brigue and Leman is relatively
gentle. It was described as « defectiv » by the engineer Blotzniki in 1861, and a century
later this was confirmed by a geologist: « A plodding transporter, it is unable to carry as
far as Lake Geneva all the material that its tributaries entrust to it. Lacking energy and
negligent, the river abandons this material where it flows, that is in its bed, thereby
causing it to rise. In natural conditions, after a few years, it leaves this bed behind and
creates a new one in the bottom lands, which in turn become filled in ».'
Floods, exceptional floods and burst banks are usually caused by a combination of
factors. They are due either to melting snow and ice during prolonged periods of high
temperatures, which can be accelerated by warm winds, or to the melt combined with
violent rain storms, or, in autumn, to heavy rains from the Mediterranean that reach as
far as the Pennine Alps and melt the first snow cover at high altitudes.
Barricades
From the Middle Ages, people built « barriers against the river » in order to protect
themselves from floods. These construction works were carried out under a system of
statute labour and took place at the end of the autumn and in winter. The barriers were
most often made of wooden coffers, filled with gravel and secured to the ground by
stakes. The councils of each commune appointed people to be in charge of the works.
They were known as « directeurs » (managers), and they kept a list of the workers and
the tours of duty. These managers, who received a small remuneration, were usually
prominent citizens of the village. From the 18th century onwards, the spirit of this system
of labour began to change. The work was no longer considered to be obligatory, but was
treated as a tax that could be paid through the performance of community work. To
1 • Marcel Buri, VS, le mensuel du Valais, June 1995.
63
Journal of alpin* ммокк 2004 №3 GABRIEL BENDER
exacerbate the confusion, the information on labour provided and the income tax
statements were often recorded in the same book.
Texts from the 18th and 19th centuries describe the river as a living being with its own
character, its noble-mindedness and its temperament. The Rhone was put into the same
category as maniacal rulers, irascible neighbours who could not tolerate anyone
trespassing on their garden. « The Rhone, as the absolute master, wandered freely
between the two mountain ranges which, alone, with a few alluvial cones, limited its
empire. (...) In order to preserve a few strips of land, the riverside dwellers built barriers
against a few arms of the Rhone, or barres, hence the local names still used today:
Barrières, Barres and Grands Barres » (Carron, 1942). But as the population grew,
injustices concerning the way in which the land was shared out became increasingly
intolerable: one half for the river and the other for the rich farmers who owned cattle,
horses or donkeys that had exclusive use of the pastures of the valley bottom. People
living along the river, and especially the poorest, began to complain more and more
loudly about this alliance between a river and a system that marginalized them.
Rectifying the Rhone: a century of proclamation
We learn from oral history about the interminable quarrels of neighbouring communes
that built offensive barriers to direct the river away from their land, while historical
records contain numerous documents attesting to the desire to find a collective and joint
solution to the problem of the rivers course, such as this edict dated 1776 that shared
out the works in order to « prevent irruptions and ca