Risks in rivers

Rivers downstream of hydroelectric installations (dams, water intakes, etc…) can be very dangerous.

In the summer, melting glaciers and violent storms saturate hydroelectric installations. Surplus water runs off into rivers, causing sudden and significant rises in the water level. Small islands, gravel banks and embankments are quickly submerged.

Danger signs clearly indicate hazardous areas. They exhort walkers, anglers and canoeists to keep clear of the riverbed, where the calm, regular flow may prove fatally deceptive. 

HYDRO Guides patrol rivers during the summer to inform those who regularly visit watercourses and to raise awareness of the problem generally. They make users aware of the hazardous situations in which they could find themselves.

HYDRO Exploitation recruits and trains HYDRO Guides for its customers. We regularly make available different means of raising public awareness of the risk near rivers (risk analysis - light beacon).