Mauldre

The Mauldre is small a French Rivière, of 35,4 km length, Affluent of left bank of the the Seine, which runs in the department of the Yvelines.

The course of Mauldre

Mauldre takes its source to 135 m of altitude close to the hamlet of White House in extreme cases of the communes of Saint-Rémy-the Honore and Coignières. It sprinkles Beynes and Maule, before being thrown in the Seine with Épône to 20 m of altitude, towards the point upstream of the island of Rangiport. The average slope is thus of 3,25 m/km (0,33%).

The course of Mauldre, directed south-north, receives 25 affluents whose principal ones are:

  • out of left bank, two brooks which go down from the Forêt of Rambouillet and irrigate rural areas before joining Mauldre with Neauphle-the-Old man:
  • out of Right Bank, three brooks coming from more urbanized zones (Versailles, Saint-Quentin-in-Yvelines):
    • the Ru of Élancourt (6,6 km) which joined Mauldre with Pontchartrain (commune of Jouars-Pontchartrain)
    • the Ru Maldroit (13 km) which takes its source with Trappes, crosses Plaisir where it partly is channeled and buried, and joined Mauldre to Beynes
    • the brook of Beulle which takes its source with the hamlet of Beulle, on the plate of the Alluets-the-King and throws themselves in Mauldre with Maule
    • and the Ru of Gally (22 km) which takes its source in the park of the castle of Versailles and sprinkles Thiverval-Oil cake before joining Mauldre downstream from Beynes with the locality Maladrerie

The catchment area, which covers 41  130 hectares, of which approximately 20% are urbanized, extends on 66 communes and relates to a population of almost 400  000 people. The confluence with the Ru of Gally marks the limit between the basins of Mauldre higher (which can generally be crossed to Gué) and of Mauldre lower.

In the lower basin, Mauldre draws some Méandre S, and is subdivided in some places in secondary arms, sometimes called “chevreuses” as with Maule and Aulnay-on-Mauldre.

The annual medium flow of the river with Aulnay-on-Mauldre is estimated at 2,13 m ³ /s. It tends to increase with the passing of years because it is reinforced by the rejections of increasingly important urban populations, in particular in the south-east of the basin (Versailles, Saint-Quentin-in-Yvelines…) and that one finds in the purification plants. The recorded maximum capacity with Épône is of approximately 20 m ³ /s.

The valley of Mauldre is boxed between the plates which constitute the plain of Versailles and Mantois. It is borrowed by axes of communication which connect the valley of the Seine to the center and the south of Yvelines: secondary road D 191, of Mantes to Corbeil and Railway of Épône-Wall to Pleasure-Oil cake.

A little upstream Beynes, it is crossed by a Siphon 922 m, by the Aqueduc of Avre, which feeds Paris in Drinking water collected in the area of Verneuil-sur-Avre (the Eure).

It is a laughing valley, enamelled many Village S which kept their rural character, in spite of the proximity of the Paris and its suburbs. Many a Moulin S was formerly in activity along its course.

Etymology

According to an assumption formulated by Jacques Treton, the known form oldest of Mauldre goes back to 1529 and could have a common origin with Maule, with the Celtic suffix - macaw which means “river”. Maule, in the past Mantula or Mautula in IXe century, then Maulia in XIIIe century, would derive from a Gallic term, mantalo , meaning “way”. He thus proposes like origin for Mauldre, Mantalo-macaw , that is to say the “river of the way” what would correspond to the position of the town of Maule to the crossing of an ancient way and a river.

Management of Mauldre

The basin of Mauldre is managed by the COBAHMA (catchment Committee of area of Mauldre and its affluents), which gathers the 66 common interested parties (approximately 400  000 inhabitants) by Mauldre and its affluents under the aegis of the general advice of Yvelines. Created in 1992, It is chaired by Pierre Amouroux, former mayor of Épône. A Diagram of installation and management of water (WISE) (document of planning instituted by the Law on the water of January 3rd, 1992) was implemented by the COBAHMA. With the passing of years, the Pollution related on the urbanization and industry, became alarming. Four permanent hydrological stations supervise water quality (organic, nitrogenized and phosphated Pollution, bacteriological quality…). Two are located on Mauldre at Beynes and Aulnay-on-Mauldre, two on affluents, with Mareil-le-Guyon on Guyonne and with Thiverval-Oil cake on the Ru of Gally.

Signs of improvement of the total situation start to appear; thus electric fishings realized in 2004 by the Superior council of fishing showed the presence of the trout fario at various developmental stages, which is an good indicator of water quality and piscicultural medium, as well as the return of the Anguille, migrating species.

In spite of its low length, Mauldre is prone to Crue S rapids. The last notable floods go back to March 1983 and January 2000.

The ten communes of the lower basin of Mauldre grouped in “trade union of the valley of Mauldre” to arrange the river and to fight against the water pollution.

The use of Mauldre

Nowadays, the river is especially the discharge system of surface waters and the water rejected by the purification plants. The principal one of these stations is with Villepreux, on the course of the Ru of Gally, downstream from the agglomeration of Versailles.

In the past, many mills used the driving force of the current, and the majority were still in function at the 19th century. One can quote the mill of Épône, today seat of a house of the Compagnons of the Duty, and that of Montainville which was used for the production of the Papier.

List localities sprinkled by Mauldre

In the direction of the course:

See too

Article related

External bonds

  • Chart of the area catchment of Mauldre on the site of [[Iaurif]] the
* Hydro Bank - Station H7913035

  • Given H7913020 station of Beynes on Mauldre:

* Hydro Bank - Station H7913020

  • Nezel, the valley of Mauldre their history, information extracted the works carried out by the ACIME (Religious Organization for the Information of Maule and the Surroundings)

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