Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The water intake of Saint-Jean-la-Rivière, located in Utelle in the Alpes-Maritimes, marks the starting point of the Vésubie Canal, a 32 km aqueduct designed to supply Nice with drinking water. Built between 1880 and 1885 under the direction of engineer E. Delacroix for the Compagnie Générale des Eaux, this infrastructure combines tunnels and open trenches. The water, captured at an altitude of 271 meters, follows a complex route to the Gairaut terminal (345 meters), meeting the growing needs of the city after its annexation to France in 1860.

Prior to this project, Nice suffered from summer water shortages, relying on insufficient tanks, sources and wells. French annexation accelerated the search for solutions, such as the acquisition of the source of Sainte-Thècle in 1861. However, the arrival of the railway in 1864 and the population growth required a more ambitious supply. The canal, granted to the Compagnie Générale des Eaux in 1878, was completed in 1885 despite delays due to expropriations. It also allowed the development of Nice floriculture, although epidemics (cholera in 1887 and 1894, typhoid in 1898) revealed initial deficiencies in water treatment.

The water intake of Saint-Jean-la-Rivière, classified as a Historic Monument in 2001, illustrates 19th-century hydraulic engineering. The canal, extended until Menton in 1892, was modernized in the 20th century with ozonation plants (such as Rimiez in 1909) to improve water quality. Landslides in 1959-1960 and renovations in 1991 (Gairaut tunnel) marked its evolution. Today, the Super Rimiez factory, which inherits these developments, processes up to 150,000 m3 of water per day, perpetuating this essential industrial heritage.

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