A hundred municipalities deprived of drinking water within a few weeks, a probable scenario

What if drinking water came à miss ? Many French towns could be deprived of water by next year. summer according to specialists.

The sunny days are just around the corner and are already here. fear of flat water restrictions. As spring and summer arrive 2023 have been marked by a significant period of drought, certain signals are raising fears of another difficult year. In 2024, the heat could be even worse. new to the meeting, but the real concerns concern the quantity water available. If the rains of winter and recent weeks were able to fill the level of the water tables to obtain sufficient quantities of water, in some places the indicators are red, particularly in the Mediterranean regions.

As of March 1, 2024, some groundwater reserves were already at capacity. low, or even very low, water levels, according to data from the Bureau of Geological and Mining Research in charge of to monitor the filling of groundwater tables. These alarming situations are very localized and concern the plains of Roussillon and the Corbières massif in the south. But what happens in the soil has a direct consequence on daily life: in several municipalities water could come to the surface. missed in the coming weeks. This is the case in the Pyr&nées-Orientales, but also in the Hérault.

Already twelve municipalities are close to a shortage of drinking water in the west of H'rault, ' due to poor filling of water tables reports France Bleu. And the situation is not going to get any better according to specialists who estimate that around a hundred municipalities could have difficulty getting the job done. get water supplies from here to summer. The prefect of Hérault, Francois-Xavier Lauch, therefore calledé the inhabitants à save water from the start present, because "95 % of drinking water comes from groundwater". However, the recharge level of these reserves hardly reaches 40% according to the prefect.

To avoid deprivation of drinking water, or worse, shortages, the time has come. rigorous and attentive water management. We need to consume "in a different way" he insisted. : "put in place water limiters, turn off taps, install rain collectors, take a shower rather than #39 ;a bath, do not wash cars when prefectural orders are issued, limit the filling of swimming pools. Common sense gestures. The actions put in place now will perhaps make it possible to continue to do so. have access to & water throughout the department during the summer.

But despite this precautions, the worst must be considered. and emergency measures, already in place deployed last year, are designed to compensate for the lack of drinking water on tap: setting à provision of tanker trucks, water bottles or even the search for new sources of water. This situation seems destined    to repeat and perhaps to repeat will become more pronounced over the years since in "2050, the climate of Montpellier will be that of Seville in Spain" according to the prefect of L'Hérault. Which one called? &agrav; long-term solutions, à start with a renovation of the aging water network in several cities in France.