This is the highest level of drought warning, the fourth of four. Faced with "insufficient rainfall", the northern part of the Jura department was placed this Thursday in "crisis" vigilance for "non-economic" uses of water, announced the prefecture. These measures include a total halt to the watering and cleaning of facades, roofs and sidewalks by individuals, as well as the cessation of watering of sports fields, and the prohibition of the filling and emptying of swimming pools.
The North Jura is also on alert alert (second level) for economic uses. This implies a ban on the washing of vehicles in resorts (except systems equipped with high pressure or water recycling), the stop of watering construction tracks or golf courses during the day. Industrialists are required to reduce their levies by 10%.
💧 #secheresse The current drought in the Jura department is intensifying due to insufficient rainfall to remedy the situation in the long term. 👉 Details of vigilance threshold restrictions can be found at:https://t.co/DlcbjkEbIv pic.twitter.com/jd4b8PEqpW
— Prefect of Jura (@Prefet39) September 21, 2023
Two other sectors of the department (limestone plateau and Haute-chaîne) have been placed on "enhanced alert" alert (third level) for economic and non-economic uses of water. Companies are thus called upon to reduce their consumption by 20%.
"The water crisis is not yet behind us"
On September 1, the France still had 62% of its groundwater, the main reserves of drinking water, below seasonal norms, including 18% at very low levels, announced Thursday the Bureau of Geological and Mining Research (BRGM). The situation is "worrying" or even "worrying" around the Mediterranean, on the Rhône corridor and the south of Alsace "which are experiencing historic minima in many sectors," said Violaine Bault, hydrogeologist at the BRGM.
See alsoAre the departments richest in surface water necessarily the least impacted by drought?
According to the Minister of Ecological Transition, Christophe Béchu, as of September 8, 189 municipalities were deprived of drinking water, twice as many as on August 10. This is certainly less than last year at the same time, when some 700 municipalities were affected, but "the water crisis is not yet behind us," he said.
