Heat stroke in French groundwater. With episodes of heat waves, some towns suffer a great shortage of water, to the point of having to ration the consumption of the inhabitants.
In reality, the lack of water is not linked to the current drought but to the lack of rainfall last winter. Because it is during this period that groundwater is recharged. According to the Bureau of Geological and Mining Research (BRGM), the situation last February was equivalent to the month of May, that is, a clear deficit in most regions.
The June rains “mainly made it possible to moisten the soil and benefit the vegetation, but only slightly infiltrated the water tables except very locally,” underlines the BRGM.
Paradoxically, the current drought does not threaten the mineral water industry. “The dowsers and the miners work with aquifers that are deep aquifers and therefore not linked to previous climatic dangers,” explains Antoine Cardon, general delegate of the Syndicat des Eaux de Source et Natural Mineral Waters, at BFM Business ( SESEMN).
15 years to reach the water table
Unlike the groundwater that is used for the network and for agriculture, the water destined for the bottles takes years to use. The traced by Evian (Danone group), given the impermeability of the region’s soils, takes at least 15 years to finally be captured.
Indeed, it is the State that determines the amount of water that can be extracted. “Our extractions are currently 20% lower than the extraction authorization that has been granted to us (279.5 m3/hour),” says Evian, in a press release released by Le Monde. “In the face of these episodes of drought, we remain very attentive.”
However, some sources have been in a worrying state for years. This is particularly the case with Vittel. Used by Nestlé, this water comes from two aquifers, one of which is notoriously deficient. The company, which represents 20% of its operations, has committed to reducing its withdrawals to speed up the return to balance of this source.
time offset
In the Puy-de-Dôme, it is Volvic (owned by Danone) that is worrying. “The Volvic aquifer reserve is falling. Studies have shown it,” explains Emmanuel Gérardin, director of the Volvic water company, to TF1. “We are governed by authorizations appointed by the State, which we have always respected. This authorization has evolved. This year it has been reduced.
In this case, it is rather climate change that weighs on these sources. Because if the current drought does not have a direct impact on the level of groundwater used, eventually it will, especially if heat wave episodes increase.
A situation that will eventually reduce exploitation while public agencies will have to find new ways to deal with falling levels of shallow aquifers. One solution would be to recycle wastewater, a sector in which France has lagged far behind. But such a solution will be mechanically more expensive. Like the water…
Source: BFM TV
