Research strategy
LEESU’s domain is the analysis of the impact of global changes (climate, urban design and architecture, regulations, practices, usages, management notes) on flows of water and contaminants in the urban milieu, from rainfall through to its destiny in the reception milieu. LEESU research is targeted and engaged.
Its activities are anchored in lasting operational partnerships with local authorities in the Paris region and with industries in the water sector. Its ambition in the next 5 years is to develop innovative concepts for sustainable water management in a resilient city, founded in fields of expertise developed in the last 10 years: modeling and the use of models, micro-pollutants and pathogens in human-impacted catchment basins, multiscale approaches, limnology, urban water uses, and urban planning. The approach is interdisciplinary, a balance between observations in situ and/or in controlled lab conditions, and their interpretation, culminating in quantitative and predictive models.
Research positioning
LEESU’s research activities are structured along four axes:
►Sources and flows of contaminants in urban catchment basins;
►Functioning of human-impacted reception milieus;
►Actors and decision-making processes in urban water management.
LEESU is involved in some 30 research projects at international, national, and regional scale. Among the 13 projects selected under the call for projects on “Innovation and changes in practices: micropollutants in urban water”, issued by ONEMA (national office for water and aquatic environments), the Water Agencies, and the Ecology Ministry, two LEESU projects were chosen in 2014. The Cosmet’eau Project looks at changes in practices in cosmetic products, and whistleblowers on the impact on reception milieus. In synergy with the SOERE URBIS urban hydrology observatories, the Roulépur Project tackles upstream rainwater management and in particular the efforts to combat micropollutant flows from urban streets. The partners in these projects include local and regional authorities, and SMEs.
Director: Ghassan CHEBBO
Oversight: École nationale des ponts et chaussées, UPEC