The national nature reserve of the ponds and gullies of Yveline

Le SMAGER (Syndicat Mixte d'Aménagement et de Gestion des Étangs et des Rigoles), has been working on the site for fifteen years to promote biodiversity.

The National Nature Reserve of Ponds and Rigoles du Roi-Soleil with the ponds of Saint-Hubert and Pourras is a migratory stopover, a wintering and breeding site for nearly 230 species. Thus the number of plant species has increased from around fifty to about 300 today.

The site is already Natura 2000 classified. In addition to being a water reservoir, it is of major environmental interest.

History of ponds

“To feed the grandiose spectacle, desired by Louis XIV, that constitute the great waters of Versailles, it was necessary to create, three centuries ago, a little-known hydraulic masterpiece: the Royal River.

[Thus,] from the beginning of his reign, Louis XIV ordered the execution of hydraulic works to improve the water supply. [But it was not until] in 1683 that the Marquis de Louvois […] decided to have drainage works carried out on the land on the Rambouillet plateau. This enterprise, which was started in 1684, gave birth to the hydraulic network known as "upper ponds" which stretches between Rambouillet and Versailles […], including the pond of the Tower and the aqueducts of Vieille-Eglise-en-Yvelines and Perray-en-Yvelines, which joined the Grand Lit de rivière.

It thus formed [a network called] "Rivière Royale" 34 kilometers long [crossing the town of Perray-en-Yvelines and which received the waters of a dozen ponds]. »