{"id":188,"date":"2023-12-01T16:40:22","date_gmt":"2023-12-01T15:40:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/hydrology\/?page_id=188"},"modified":"2026-02-13T17:53:47","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T16:53:47","slug":"chamberonne-catchment","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wp.unil.ch\/hydrology\/field-sites\/chamberonne-catchment\/","title":{"rendered":"Chamberonne catchment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Lire cette page en fran\u00e7ais<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

The Chamberonne River is located in the west of Lausanne in the Canton of Vaud. It is 23.5 km long and it is composed of the Sorge and the M\u00e8bre tributaries. Its catchment has an area of about 40 km2<\/sup> and is part of the broader Rh\u00f4ne River catchment. It has a mixed land use with a sharp transition from upper forested and agricultural areas to lower urban areas. The river flows through the EPFL and UNIL campuses before reaching Lake L\u00e9man. With a north-south flow, its catchment has the typical configuration of the Swiss Lemanic Rivers.<\/p>\n<\/div>

\"bv<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Challenges \/ Opportunities<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Chamberonne is a compelling case study for water resources management because it encapsulates many of the major challenges faced by urban rivers: administrative responsibilities are shared across 13 municipalities; there is a sharp land use transition from forest and agriculture to urban (the urban surface increased by 11% in the period 1985-2018 and it’s been further increasing since then), resulting in the alternation of protected areas, naturalistic trails but also kilometers of river network channelized underground; water quality is often poor due to outdated hydraulic infrastructures, stormflow bypass systems often releasing untreated sewage water into the river during storms, and multiple unidentified point pollution sources. These challenges are common among many urban rivers in Switzerland and worldwide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because of these challenges, the Chamberonne is also at the center of two major initiatives carried out by the Canton of Vaud: the Plan r\u00e9gional d\u2019\u00e9vacuation des eaux (PREE) de la Chamberonne (whose development started in 2018 with the goals of improving the management of the Chamberonne drainage basin) and the Broye-Chamberonne renaturation project (https:\/\/broye-chamberonne.ch\/ecf-chamberonne\/<\/a>), which will substantially modify the morphology of the river close to its mouth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The proximity of the Chamberonne to the UNIL\/EPFL campuses represents a unique opportunity for teaching, research and innovation. Many Environmental Science courses include excursions and activities on the Chamberonne and some are developed in collaboration with local associations. To facilitate exchanges and develop new ideas, an academic network around the Chamberonne has been created in spring 2025. Every person\/group interested in collaborating and developing new projects is welcome to join this network.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"chamberonne
Map of the Chamberonne catchment land use.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Ongoing activities<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Besides the major initiatives led by the Canton of Vaud, there exist various activities carried out by individual research groups at UNIL and EPFL. Some of them are listed below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n