The Communauté de communes du Grand Chambord (Grand Chambord) has launched the first phase of its “Smart Val de Loire” smart-city initiative, beginning with the remote-reading of water meters. The project is implemented in partnership with the Syndicat mixte Val de Loire Numérique (Val de Loire Numérique), which has already deployed a LoRaWAN-based IoT network covering the territory.
In the pilot phase on the commune of Bauzy, 160 smart water meters were installed in January 2024 by the water-service operator SAUR, ahead of a roll-out of approximately 8 000 communicative meters across the 16-commune territory over the next four years. The experiment was preceded by sensor installations in public-sector buildings (temperature, air quality, humidity) and initial network infrastructure (47 LoRa antennas) in June 2024.
According to the project’s preliminary budget sheet, the investment for the Bauzy pilot (166 meters base) is estimated at €28 722 excluding tax, rising to €34 466 including VAT; this covers meters, one lighting-cabinet sensor, and core network (pylône, LoRa gateway, LNS). The broader full-deployment cost has not been publicly disclosed.
Once fully implemented, the system should enable more frequent remote consumption readings than the current semi-annual cycle, faster detection of leaks and anomalies, and data-driven management of water resources. It will also support further IoT use cases such as public-lighting control, building energy monitoring and mobility-flow measurement.
The initiative is presented as part of Grand Chambord’s goal to deploy a connected, sustainable territory by leveraging a shared infrastructure across municipalities under the Smart Val de Loire programme.
