Reservoir dams and flooding on the seine

Preface

Introduction

Part 1. The first steps in hydrology

Ancient hydrometric knowledge associated with navigation

“Measuring river water”

The origins of hydrometry on the Seine

Lineaments of hydrological knowledge

Analysing variations in water level: the first steps towards understanding the river regime

Measuring river flows: the Seine basin, a breeding ground for innovation

The first surveys of flooded areas

The first flood monographs

Linking events together: the diachronic approach

City flood defence projects

Canals to protect Paris from flooding

Troyes and Nemours

Part 2. Hydrology between science and territory

The “Belgrand model”: a knowledge project

The hydrometric service of the Seine basin: a tool for understanding the river regime

The emergence of flood expertise: what place for summer floods?

Flood defence after 1850: the slow metamorphosis of the system inherited from the classical city

1856 and 1910: still intervening at the very heart of the city

Reservoir dams: a solution long put off

Reinforcing natural and artificial hydraulic networks as cities pass through

Flood warnings: alerting for better defence

From natural to artificial flooding: the advent of reservoir dams

Controlling the flow of the Seine in an age of urbanisation: squaring the circle?

Summer flooding on the Seine: a hidden risk

Conclusion

Appendices

Bibliography

Documentary sources

Abbreviations