The French company, Orvade (a subsidiary of Veolia) operates the main municipal solid waste (MSW) treatment plant for the Orléans metropolitan area at its site in Saran, north of the city. In addition to a waste incineration plant, the site also houses a recoverable waste sorting facility. At the end of May 2016, torrential storms swept through Europe causing extensive flooding in many areas. The worst hit regions in France were in the center of the country. In Orléans, 2 months’ worth of rain - over 126 mm - fell in just 4 days. 63.4 mm of rainfall was recorded for 30 May 2016 alone. The Saran waste treatment plant was hit hard, with water levels rising to 1.5 m inside the buildings. The machine room was not spared, forcing an emergency shutdown of the incinerator turbine, and

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