Problem:

St Gervais les Bains is in the Haute-Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France. At the foot of Mont Blanc, the mid-mountain village is best known for tourism, and has been a popular holiday destination since the early 1900s.

To reach the thermal baths below and its activity center, including the high school, the many thousands of tourists have to take a steeply sloping road for 4 km.

Solution:

In order to reduce individual motor transport and the carbon footprint, Mayor Jean Marc Peillex wants to build a lift which will use water pressure to move the cabin up and down. Ballasts that will fill and empty will run the lift.

It will be the town’s wastewater that will be used and not spring water. The water lift is much less advanced than its big brother since it is only in the preliminary phase.

Discover Solution 233: biodegradeable rope

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