On September 6, 2016, the executive council of the Collectivité approved a land exchange with the Conservatoire du Littoral.
As owner of two pieces of land in the Quartier d’Orléans, the Conservatoire had suggested trading part of this land to the Collectivité in exchange for a natural site located along the edge of the Etang de la Barrière, in Cul-de-Sac. The land in the Quartier d’Orléans will be used in the construction of a new water treatment station (STEP). This trade is a win-win situation: The installation of the future STEP, designed to treat the wastewater of 18,000 residents, requires a large surface; and the Conservatoire, on the other hand, will have the possibility to manage the shores of the pond. This type of management, which is completely logical, is not possible on any of the salt ponds at the moment, as the property of the Conservatoire is limited to the water of the 14 ponds in question.