Monitoring water-table level and salinity: FURGO at Domaine Royal de Jarras

This summer, we installed our low-tech sensors at Domaine Royal de Jarras, a stone’s throw from Aigues-Mortes, between the Mediterranean Sea and the Camargue lagoons. Vines rooted in sand, a setting that almost makes you forget how hard it is to grow vines in this fragile, finely balanced ecosystem — in the service of exceptional wines.

Vines in the sand, between fresh water and salt water

Domaine Royal de Jarras is a singular case: a vineyard planted on an ancient fossilised coastal sandbar, historically protected from phylloxera by this sandy terroir. It belongs to the AOP Sable de Camargue appellation, recognised in 2023, and its 400 to 800 hectares are farmed organically within a Natura 2000 area home to more than 760 animal and plant species.

This position between sea and lagoons imposes critical water dynamics. As the winegrowers put it: “two bodies of water fight it out here, the fresh water and the salt water”. Salt water coming in from the sea is toxic to the vines. To stop its advance, the estate relies on the roubines, small freshwater canals along the edge of the plots: they drain rainwater in autumn and winter, then in spring maintain a high level of fresh water that blocks the saline rise. The whole challenge is opening them at the right moment: as soon as the freshwater table drops, and above all as soon as salinity exceeds the thresholds the vines can tolerate.

Continuous monitoring alongside manual readings

The teams at Grands Domaines du Littoral (GDL) already keep watch on the situation: one or two readings a week of water-table level and salinity, across some twenty boreholes. “When we described our problem, FURGO offered to help us with low-cost sensors and their monitoring interface,” explains Lucie Gelé, head of the R&D unit at GDL.

Our sensors enrich these readings with continuous data collection, accessible in real time. The interface makes it possible to follow water and salinity variations day by day and to raise the alarm early in the event of a saline rise, so action can be taken before the vines suffer osmotic stress. In time, this monitoring should also reduce the teams’ trips into the field.

Where does the trial stand?

Water-level monitoring with a piezometric sensor was the simplest to design and integrate into the FURGO platform: the solution is used as it stands by Lucie and her teams. Salinity measurement proved harder within the time and budget available; a few adjustments are still needed before it fully meets GDL’s needs. The trial continues.

Monitoring a water table, a borehole or a canal? Discover our water-table monitoring piezometer or contact us to talk about your site.