ENGLISH TEXTS
PRIORITY TO WATER STORAGE
Tracks, whether sand or turf, will always need water. Racecourses can optimize its use, but they cannot do without it.“ What we advocate to the ministries is not to reduce our consumption indefinitely, but to stop withdrawals from aquifers and rivers. One way to get there is to multiply water-storage solutions,” explains Pierre Préaud, Secretary-General of the Fédération Nationale des Courses Hippiques( FNCH), the body that brings together trotting and Flat.“ Until 2023, racecourses were considered neither sports grounds nor agricultural land, so they weren’ t priority users in the event of watering restrictions. We obtained from the Ministry for Ecological Transition the same treatment as sports grounds— but in exchange for a code of good conduct. Many racecourses have created water-storage systems over the past two years.” One solution is to recover roof water. This is done at Cabourg, and at Lyon-Parilly which has just installed buried tanks between the stands and the track, with a capacity of 1,000 m ³.“ This way we can capture stormwater that used to be wasted,” says track manager Romain Garin.“ A water-restriction order has just been issued, but we have 930 m ³ available to cover the September trotting fixtures. In 2024 we saved 7,000 m ³— half of trotting’ s needs. Another advantage is that the stables no longer flood during heavy storms.” The € 450,000 investment will be recouped quickly, especially as irrigation from the tanks works by communicating vessels, so with no electricity. That’ s an energy saving of € 25,000 per year. The Pompadour racecourse has also invested in draining its tracks to channel water into a basin built in the lower part of the venue. And Pau is set to inaugurate a second lake, designed to collect rainwater … Projects are springing up everywhere, whatever the size of the racecourse. The common fund for racing has granted € 2.29 million in aid for water-related investments( storage, irrigation, recovery …) from 2015 to 2025, with an average contribution rate of 35 % per project. In total, € 6.5 million has been invested in this area.
IS TREATED WASTE- WATER THE FUTURE?
What if, instead of drawing from aquifers or rivers, racecourses used treated wastewater from treatment plants to irrigate their tracks? This is water that has been processed— even if it remains unfit for drinking. It’ s considered sufficiently clean to be discharged into riv- ers or the sea, but at present it is not permitted to pump or capture it for irrigation. The State and local authorities have reservations tied to potential health risks and the novelty of the approach. Cabourg racecourse is, to our knowledge, the only one currently recovering water from the neighboring treatment plant, operated by Veolia. A five-year authorization was granted by the Prefect of Calvados in July 2023. The racecourse isn’ t directly connected to the nearby plant; instead, it pumps with its own trucks( 20 m ³ capacity). The water has undergone several upstream treatments, including ultraviolet disinfection to kill bacteria.“ We need 4,000 m ³ of water for the Estivales, and today we no longer draw a single liter from the aquifers,” says Rose-Marie Somson, the racecourse manager.“ Health tests are carried out very regularly and all the water we pump is logged. We can only spray it in the absence of the public. During racedays we therefore use our rainwater-harvesting tanks.” Other racecourses dream of using treated wastewater from nearby plants. Le Lion d’ Angers was among the first to begin studies, in the late 2010s. Alain Peltier was then chairman of the racing association.“ The plan was to stop using water from the Oudon. The Maine-et-Loire department granted us
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