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Water from the tap (icon image): Bargemon is in short supply
Photo: Petra Schneider-Schmelzer / imago images / Petra Schneider
Because of the ongoing drought, a village in southern France is taking drastic consequences: brushing your teeth with tap water is now prohibited.
Because of the problems with the drinking water supply, the water from the tap should not be drunk or used to prepare baby milk or raw food, says the municipality of Bargemon in the mountainous hinterland of the Côte d'Azur.
For these purposes, residents could pick up bottled water at the mayor's office.
The restriction is a hygiene measure.
Some of the tap water has to be brought in by tanker at the moment, which means that the drinking water quality is not guaranteed.
The town of Villars-sur-Var north of Nice had already drawn similar consequences from the drought in June.
Brushing your teeth and drinking from the tap were forbidden.
Residents initially received two bottles of drinking water per day from the town hall.
At the end of May, the prefecture of Alpes-Maritimes had already rationed the water.
Washing cars, filling private pools and watering lawns have since been banned in the department that includes Nice and the Côte d'Azur.
In addition to the drought, people on the Côte d'Azur are currently experiencing a heat wave.
The municipality of Bargemon warns of temperatures up to 40 degrees.
Due to the increased risk of forest fires, strict restrictions have been imposed on entering large natural areas.
ptz/dpa
