This project investigated the history of knowledge and management of sediment in the Rhone basin during the ninenteenth and twentieth centuries. This was accomplished through the systematic review and analysis of hydrological, forestry, and engineering literature as well as relevant archival collections from national and departmental archives. The project has shed light on the emergence and development of two main models, which shaped in turn two distinct approaches to sedimentary management in the Rhône River basin. Both, however, converged on the effort to reduce the sediment transported by the Rhône.