The French site of the HSM Urban Observatory is located on the Verdanson catchment. The Verdanson is a tributary of the Lez river that flows through the Montpellier urban area.
The Verdanson is a typical Mediterranean urban watershed in that (i) the reaction time to meteorological events is short (less than 30 min.), (ii) the urbanisation process is still active in the upstream part of the catchment, (iii) the density of the urban development scheme is high. Street submersion by the Verdanson urban stream has caused human casualties in the past. The Verdanson is thus a key stake to the Montpellier Méditerranée Metropolitan (3M) authority, that is in charge of issuing flood alerts.
Achieving diffusion and sharing of the hydro-meteorological monitoring scheme with 3M is one of the short term objectives of the HSM Urban Observatory.
Several stage gauges are implemented along the Verdanson river. These gauges are operated by the Montpellier Méditerranée Metropolitan authority, that is in charge of issuing flood alerts.
