Four French villages ban drinking tap water due to drought
As France grapples with ongoing drought, drinking water from the tap has been banned in four municipalities in southern France due to low water levels.
Four communes in the southern French département of Pyrénées-Orientales were told not to drink tap water due to low water levels - a move virtually unprecedented this early in the year.
The new rule came into place on Friday, and it will impact around 3,000 people in the Corbère, Corbère-les-Cabanes, Saint-Michel-de-Llotes and Bouleternère municipalities, located to the west of Perpignan in the foothills of the Pyrenees, according to France Bleu.
The water level in the well that supplies the villages "is at its lowest level, just 30 centimetres above the pump," head of the local water board, Jean-Pierre Saurie, told AFP.
The town hall for Corbère-les-Cabanes shared a press release informing inhabitants via Facebook, explaing that "tap water will be prohibited for consumption until the Regional Health Agency authorises it".
The municipality will give one pack of water (six 1.5 litre bottles) per person per week, free of charge, until tap water consumption can be restored.
Already under water restrictions, the town hall also reminded inhabitants that it is forbidden to water gardens, wash cars, and fill pools.
Another well used by local farmers is being tested, but in the meantime local authorities have stockpiled enough bottled water for 10 days.
"It's exceptional. We've never had a drought like this," Saurie added.
The region, which borders Spain, has been one of the worst affected by a winter drought that has seen local rainfall at about half of its normal level, according to the national weather office.
Water restrictions in the south of France are not unusual in summer, but it is extremely rare to have restrictions this severe in place in April.
Many other areas of France already have other, lesser, restrictions in place on water use because of the lack of rainfall.
READ MORE: MAP: Where in France is under water restrictions in spring 2023?
The summer of 2022 was exceptionally hot and dry, leading to restrictions all over the country. Usually water supplies would replenish over the winter, but the last six months seen lower than average rainfalls, meaning that groundwater supplies have not recovered.
Even though the country has benefited from some rainfall in the month of March, the impacts have differed by region and département.
According to Météo-France, France experienced a 40 percent rainfall surplus at the national level compared to normal, but the effects depended greatly by region, with aquifers in Brittany and Nouvelle-Aquitaine benefiting more from a more "significant recharge episodes".
Overall, "rainfall infiltrated deep into the ground during the month of March was not sufficient to bring about a clear improvement", the BRGM explained.
According to the BRGM, at least 50 metropolitan départements, particularly in the north, centre and southeast of the country, are at "very strong" risk of drought, potentially looking ahead to a difficult spring and summer. If there is not a significant surplus of rainfall in the coming weeks, then more départements will likely fall under water restriction orders, BRGM said.
When it comes to the Pyrénées-Orientales département specifically, the BRGM said that parts of the département are at "very strong" risk of drought this summer.
At the end of March, French President Emmanuel Macron unveiled a water-saving plan, with the goal of cutting the country's water usage by 10 percent by 2030.
The plan will be implemented across five axes: sector-by-sector water savings plans, fighting against water loss, reusing wastewater, better planning for water usage in the agriculture industry, and the institution of progressive water pricing.
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Four communes in the southern French département of Pyrénées-Orientales were told not to drink tap water due to low water levels - a move virtually unprecedented this early in the year.
The new rule came into place on Friday, and it will impact around 3,000 people in the Corbère, Corbère-les-Cabanes, Saint-Michel-de-Llotes and Bouleternère municipalities, located to the west of Perpignan in the foothills of the Pyrenees, according to France Bleu.
The water level in the well that supplies the villages "is at its lowest level, just 30 centimetres above the pump," head of the local water board, Jean-Pierre Saurie, told AFP.
The town hall for Corbère-les-Cabanes shared a press release informing inhabitants via Facebook, explaing that "tap water will be prohibited for consumption until the Regional Health Agency authorises it".
The municipality will give one pack of water (six 1.5 litre bottles) per person per week, free of charge, until tap water consumption can be restored.
Already under water restrictions, the town hall also reminded inhabitants that it is forbidden to water gardens, wash cars, and fill pools.
Another well used by local farmers is being tested, but in the meantime local authorities have stockpiled enough bottled water for 10 days.
"It's exceptional. We've never had a drought like this," Saurie added.
The region, which borders Spain, has been one of the worst affected by a winter drought that has seen local rainfall at about half of its normal level, according to the national weather office.
Water restrictions in the south of France are not unusual in summer, but it is extremely rare to have restrictions this severe in place in April.
Many other areas of France already have other, lesser, restrictions in place on water use because of the lack of rainfall.
READ MORE: MAP: Where in France is under water restrictions in spring 2023?
The summer of 2022 was exceptionally hot and dry, leading to restrictions all over the country. Usually water supplies would replenish over the winter, but the last six months seen lower than average rainfalls, meaning that groundwater supplies have not recovered.
Even though the country has benefited from some rainfall in the month of March, the impacts have differed by region and département.
According to Météo-France, France experienced a 40 percent rainfall surplus at the national level compared to normal, but the effects depended greatly by region, with aquifers in Brittany and Nouvelle-Aquitaine benefiting more from a more "significant recharge episodes".
Overall, "rainfall infiltrated deep into the ground during the month of March was not sufficient to bring about a clear improvement", the BRGM explained.
According to the BRGM, at least 50 metropolitan départements, particularly in the north, centre and southeast of the country, are at "very strong" risk of drought, potentially looking ahead to a difficult spring and summer. If there is not a significant surplus of rainfall in the coming weeks, then more départements will likely fall under water restriction orders, BRGM said.
When it comes to the Pyrénées-Orientales département specifically, the BRGM said that parts of the département are at "very strong" risk of drought this summer.
At the end of March, French President Emmanuel Macron unveiled a water-saving plan, with the goal of cutting the country's water usage by 10 percent by 2030.
The plan will be implemented across five axes: sector-by-sector water savings plans, fighting against water loss, reusing wastewater, better planning for water usage in the agriculture industry, and the institution of progressive water pricing.
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