Video: The Brax animal shelter, flooded for the sixth time in a year, issues an SOS: "We no longer have confidence in the Agglomeration"

The shelter's managers have been noticing these floods since the Camélat construction site was completed. They are demanding accountability from the Agglomeration, which is responsible for managing waterways and flows around the barrier.

"I've been president of the shelter since 2003. And we've never had problems like this before... Unfortunately, no one can explain to us what's wrong." For the sixth time since the completion of the Camélat bridge and bar construction , since spring 2024, the Brax animal shelter has its feet in water. During the night of Sunday, May 4 to Monday, May 5, 35 millimeters fell in this area, during a storm that was not among the most intense in recent months. "I heard it was raining hard around 3 a.m. I went down to see if the dogs were okay... The water hadn't risen yet." Nadine Bonadio, vice-president of the shelter, lives on site. Three hours later, around 6 a.m., the damage was done. "I had to extract and shelter five dogs. Some were swimming."

"We're fed up," adds Christine Salane, the president. "And this time isn't the worst." In early April, they had to bring a dozen canines to safety. "It's happening all too often. The animals' lives are in danger. Soaked, terrified dogs and cats. Flooded enclosures. Volunteers helpless in the face of a disaster that has become almost routine."

Beyond these sudden rises in water levels, their recurrence, and the risks they pose, it's the work done afterward that annoys the shelter managers. "The water has to be pumped out, cleaned up... The employees take care of that. And during that time, they can't take care of the dogs."

Both are in direct contact with officials from the Agglomeration, which owns the land surrounding the Camélat bar. "At the very beginning, we were assured that the construction site had nothing to do with the flooding... Then they ended up telling us that it might have been related. We've been promised for several months that the problem would be resolved. It hasn't. We don't understand what's going on. And we no longer have confidence in the Agglomeration of Agen," sigh these two volunteers, aged 72 and 76, who spare no effort for the 80 dogs in their care. "The shelter takes in abandoned, mistreated, and forgotten animals every day. It offers them a home, care, and a second chance. And today, it's this same shelter that needs help. Politicians must take up this issue. This is no longer just an emergency: it's a cry for help."

Politicians and the Agglomeration seem quite embarrassed by these recurring phenomena, as soon as the sky rumbles and weeps. No solution has yet been presented to the shelter's managers, other than anticipating storms and setting up a pumping system as soon as the first overflows occur, as was the case on Sunday evening, May 4. "In-depth work is underway: municipal and Agglomeration services are collaborating to identify concrete solutions," the City of Brax responded in a press release on Monday, May 5. "This coordination requires time and rigor, as it involves several levels of intervention. Two meetings have already taken place with the Agglomeration. Avenues have been explored (studies, pumping, etc.), but to date, no solution has provided a lasting solution to the problem."