Over two-thirds of French groundwater below monthly averages

Droughts are emptying groundwater reserves, which are seriously under the usual monthly average, a trend that continues to lead to wildfires and shortages of freshwater for consumption, the French authority monitoring water resources has found.

Winter and summer rainfalls in France did not sufficiently fill groundwater reservoirs that have been low already since the summer of 2022.

Although the French regulatory authority for groundwater (BRGM) management calls the observation “typical for the season”, almost two-thirds of the groundwater reservoirs are particularly concerning.

Some 68% of French groundwater reserves are below monthly averages, with 75% of groundwater reserve levels going down since the last measures in May. The BRGM concludes in its report that “the situation remains unsatisfactory.”

Almost half of the French departments are fully or partly in an “alert” situation, according to VigiEau, a governmental website launched on 11 July to monitor water consumption and raise public awareness.

The north of France continues to be dry, while summer storms in the south of France have had a limiting effect on droughts. Brittany, the North and East of France, and Normandy are particularly hit, with a record 75% of water deficit in the Moselle department, neighbouring Germany and Luxembourg.

In March 2023, French President Emmanuel Macron presented a Water Plan to “ensure that all French citizens have access to quality drinking water for essential needs”.

Under the plan, the government aims to reduce country-wide consumption levels by 10%, secure drinkable water supply, improve recycling of non-conventional water sources, like rainwater or domestic wastewater, and enhance water storage in soils, aquifers and other structures.

Macron also said he supports the idea of “progressive pricing”, a system under which the price of water would increase once one attains consumption levels viewed as necessary for living.

The southern city of Montpellier has already experimented with this type of pricing.

City dwellers there do not pay for the first 15 cubic metres of water, then pay €0.95 per cubic metre until they reach consumption levels as high as 120 cubic metres. They then must pay €1.4 per cubic metre until they reach 240 cubic metres, after which costs are as high as €2.7 per cubic metre.

To help the French reduce their consumption levels, the government has set up the VigiEau website, which outlines the most updated rules on water management depending on location and lists possible fines that can amount to up to €1,500.

On top of that, 58% of French freshwater consumption stems from agriculture.

The freshwater shortage has become an issue of heated debate in France as protests against reservoirs erupted in March. Protestors notably occupied the Saint-Soline reservoir, a large water basin that was being built for farm irrigation.

(Théophane Hartmann | EURACTIV.fr)