Reconcile the ecological continuity of watercourses with the preservation of heritage mills, very small hydroelectricity and other uses. For sustainable development and sharing. Synthesis report and proposals

This report (the third on the subject) aims at establishing a detailed inventory of the situation and formulates proposals to lift the blockages noted on the operations to restore ecological continuity concerning ancient mills. The report proposes to strengthen the territorial approach before approaching the projects by structure in order to promote a shared vision of the watercourse at the scale of the watershed. It proposes a method to define what is a 'heritage' mill, a concept that will guarantee these mills a 'gentle' treatment to restore continuity and will then justify that the ecological gain is not maximum. The authors recommend that the territorial approach also allow an objective evaluation of the potential of very small hydroelectricity and that the possible projects of recommissioning of the thresholds be treated within the framework of the study of restoration of continuity, with a view to optimize performance while minimizing the impact on aquatic environments. The report advocates an evolution of governance as well as funding and proposes a certain number of structural reforms, going in the direction of sustainable development