It is a beautiful place that has already suffered a lot. A stretch of coastline punctuated by coves of fine sand devastated by the oil spill in 1978. In Landunvez (Finistère), the eldest remember very well the sinking of the Amoco Cadiz in the neighboring town of Ploudalmézeau. On the port of the village of Portsall, the oil tanker’s anchor was even laid as if to recall what everyone was shouting after the tragedy: “never again”. Forty years later, the oil spills no longer leave traces on the coast, but another pollution comes to defile the beaches of the small town north of Brest. Less visible, this time it comes from the ground and comes to spread on the beaches bordering the river carried by the waters of the Foul.
This small stream has the particularity of flowing into the sea at the bottom of a small cove. The place is both popular with surfers and bodyboarders who appreciate the waves created by the marriage of fresh and salt water in Penfoul. Here, as on the beach near the Château, families like to come and wade the youngest children in the calm waters of the river. What some do not know is that this fresh water is regularly the victim of significant bacteriological pollution where streptococcus and Escherichia coli proliferate. The presence of these bacteria is not without risk and can cause sinusitis, ear infections, diarrhea and urinary tract infections. Faced with this pollution coming from the land, mayors sometimes have no choice but to close the beaches. How ? By taking a municipal decree and installing a sign at the entrance to the site. Insufficient to prevent some swimmers, including locals, from wading there. “On the Château beach, it is not even written why swimming is prohibited. Even if they see the sign, people go there anyway, ”laments Martin d’Allens.
Last week, this activist from the collective Stoppons l’extension set up a stand on the Château beach to inform residents and tourists of recurring pollution. “People often think there are green algae when it’s polluted. There, there is none so they think it’s clean. The analyzes carried out by the Regional Health Agency in Brittany are however formal: in 2023, only five sites in the region showed “insufficient” quality, when the remaining 99% met the requirements. Château beach was obviously one of those who failed. For the activist, whose family owns a house in the area, the person responsible for this recurring pollution is all found: the Avel Vor farm, a giant pigsty which sees 12,000 pigs pass by, is singled out. Already huge, the company received the green light from the authorities to expand, which made environmental associations jump and led to the opening of an investigation. “I make a perfect scapegoat,” says Philippe Bizien.
“There are places that cause us problems”
The owner of the farm is one of the most influential men in the pig industry. Often singled out, he believes he is the victim of an anti-breeding cabal led by environmental associations. “The focus is on the beaches of Landunvez because they are close to my farm. Other beaches close to Porspoder are equally or even more polluted. But as it is impossible to incriminate me, they do not talk about it, ”replies the powerful boss. The breeder is telling the truth, in part. In Porspoder, the beaches of Mazou and Bourg are also in the sights of the authorities for recurring bacteriological pollution. In this sector, analyzes have shown that pollution is mainly linked to the inadequacy of collective and individual sanitation facilities (read framed).
Except that in the watershed of Penfoul, it is rather the agricultural activity which is at the origin of the degradation of the quality of the water. “The Penfoul catchment area is one of the largest in the area. It covers more than 1,600 hectares,” recalls Pauline Richard, head of the aquatic environments and water quality department at Pays d’Iroise Communauté. His community has been monitoring pollution levels in the waterways for several years. Since 2022, it has stepped up its efforts in the very busy area of Penfoul. “There are places that are a problem for us because of agricultural activity. Everyone talks about pig farms because of their effluents. But they are not the only ones. Cattle are also difficult to manage because the animals live outdoors. The bacteriological flows of a simple cow path can sometimes pose a problem”, explains the head of the aquatic environments department. If she has no power of coercion over farmers, her community tries to support them to encourage “changes in practices” in particular by planting hedges or restoring embankments aimed at slowing down runoff into watercourses. .
“We let people go swimming! »
Fabrice Hamon has a front row seat to observe this famous runoff. After each heavy rain, this resident of Landunvez sees the stream that passes through his garden change color. “The water sometimes turns brown, sometimes white, sometimes it foams. But we never knew why. For a little over a year, the Breton has been carrying out daily readings himself to check the quality of the water. “When I saw that athletes had been sick after a triathlon in the UK, I laughed. That day, a concentration of 1,300 units of Escherichia coli per 100 ml had been detected, or 39 times the maximum value. “Two weeks ago, I measured 55,000 units! “After the stormy rains of 2022, it even peaked at 232,000 units. “And we let people go swimming!” “, he is surprised. The resident criticizes in particular the choice of the Regional Health Agency to take water “as far as possible from the river” when children come to bathe there.
This resident is convinced that this pollution is linked to agricultural activity. But unlike others, he refuses to target Avel Vor exploitation. “We know that pig activity is sometimes the cause because we conducted analyzes with the town hall. But this is not the only pigsty installed here. It is even the most controlled. What is needed is for spreading to be more controlled and even reduced. The land cannot support such a quantity, the livestock is too large, ”denounces the activist. His recent speeches have visibly annoyed some locals. Fabrice Hamon was the victim of an attempted sabotage on his car, the wheel of which was partially unscrewed. The proof that the subject is eminently important in a region where breeding is a heavy weight.