Faced with the drought affecting France, Emmanuel Macron announced the preparation of a sobriety plan on the water. The Minister for the Ecological Transition, for his part, invites the Prefects to take all the necessary measures now.
On February 22, Météo-France warned in a press release: “rain has not fallen in France since January 21, a series of 32 consecutive days (February 21 included), unheard of during a meteorological winter”. This had not happened since measurements began in 1959, beating the 2020 record. The long-awaited rain finally fell on February 22.
But rainfall remains rare. “February 2023 is expected to end with a rainfall deficit of more than 50%, becoming one of the driest Februarys on record since measurements began in 1959”, warns Météo-France. The soils are experiencing remarkable drying for the winter season, with “a state that we usually encounter in mid-April, two months in advance”, shares the organism. The rainfall in March will be decisive for the replenishment of groundwater, that of April and May also to a lesser extent.
Plan and anticipate a lack of water this summer
After the energy sobriety plan, the government should soon present a water sobriety plan. Traveling to the International Agricultural Show on February 25, the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron called for “Be careful with this resource which is becoming scarce” and adopt “behaviours of sobriety in our practices”.
It is very likely that there will be a lack of water this summer, so you might as well anticipate. “Rather than organizing under duress at the last moment with conflicts of use, we have to plan all that”, warned the Head of State. He therefore called for “better harvest rainwater”, “have fewer leaks in water networks” et “better distribute the use of drinking water according to users”especially in “continuing to produce and invest in hillside (sic) retentions”.
France should quickly adopt a plan on the subject. “In recent days, we have sent a decree to the Council of State to better reuse wastewater”, announced in particular Emmanue Macron. Invited the day before on France 2, Marc Fesneau, Minister of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty, explained that this text aims to reuse “grey water”or slightly polluted domestic wastewater. “We are at 1.8% of use of these waters in France, when in Italy we are at 15 or 17%. […] The legislation will change to relax and clarify a number of things, it was brakes “he specified.
“All turn signals are red”
In an interview given to Sunday newspaperthe Minister of Ecological Transition Christophe Béchu calls for measures “extraordinarily early”estimating that “all indicators are red”. The minister thus received on Monday 27 February the prefects “who coordinate the seven major basins of the territory”. In essence, he sends them this message: “Anticipate! Take the steps now to save water. If it is necessary now to take orders of restrictions to ensure that the water resource is preserved for this summer, take them. »
At the beginning of March, the Prime Minister, Élisabeth Borne must set up an interministerial unit “responsible for anticipating the risks and measures to be taken in the event of drought, mobilizing all the State services concerned”. To date, February 27, 2023, five departments are placed on heightened alert on at least part of their territory: Ain, Bouches-du-Rhône, Isère, Pyrénées-Orientales, Var, and one department is at the level of vigilance: Savoy.