Rivers we can't bring ourselves to clean – historical insights into the pollution of the Moselle River (France), 1850–2000

Abstract

Abstract. As products of both natural and social systems, rivers are highly complex historical objects. We show in this paper that historical analysis works on two different levels: one level, which we call "structural", shows the materiality of the riverine environment as the spatial-temporal product of natural factors and human impacts (bed and course alterations, pollution, etc.). On a second level -"semiotic" -we show that river systems are also social constructs and the subjects of ancient and diverse management practices. The quality of a river will be a function of the dialectical interaction between both levels. Historical analysis can uncover the inherited constraints that bear upon current management practices. To help substantiate this analytical framework, we analyse the case of the Moselle river in eastern France by using archival sources and statistical data. Severely impaired by industrial discharges from iron, coal and salt industries between the 1875s and the early 1980s, the waters of the Moselle became the subject of a social consensus between stakeholders that prevented the implementation of efficient pollution management policies until the 1990s. The example urges caution on the pervasiveness of participatory approaches to river management: social consensus does not necessarily benefit the environment.

F-Specific RNA Bacteriophage Transport in Stream Water: Hydro-Meteorological Controls and Association with Suspended Solids

“…This is the case of the 'Beth dam' (Figure 1), which was constructed in 1958 at the beginning of the period of highest production in the region . In 1988, a dredging of the Orne River was carried out from Joeuf to the city of Moyeuvre [40].…”

River histories: a thematic review

“…Each river is different; each region is distinctive and each period involves the uniqueness of both material and societal structures that influence human action and inaction. Hence, river histories are highly context-dependent, and each river possesses its "organic integrity and distinctive identity" (Coates 2013, 10; see also Lehmkuhl 2007;Garcier 2007). River history scholars have followed Carl Ritter's advice from 1865: rivers "must be examined singly; they must be studied in their real character and individuality" (Ritter 1865, cited in Coates 2013.…”

Putting pharmaceuticals into the wider context of challenges to fish populations in rivers

“…In the Moselle River, its deterioration as an ecosystem began with industrialization in the 1860s. By the 1920s, some important tributaries were described as devoid of life [57]. Fish caught today in the rivers of developed countries typically contain a range of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) that were phased out, or banned, decades ago [36,58].…”