The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Drought: "all the indicators are red," says Christophe Béchu

2023-02-26T08:21:23.285Z


In the JDD, the Minister for the Ecological Transition confides his fears on the eve of his meeting with the prefects, and evokes the avenues envisaged by the government. Water restrictions could be generalized as early as March.


In an interview with the

Sunday Journal

, the Minister for Ecological Transition spoke on the eve of his meeting with the prefects, Monday February 27, on the early drought which has affected France since this winter and is already causing farmers' fears.

This month of February promises to be the driest since 1959

” explained the Minister, specifying: “

as there was the episode of drought in 2022, we were already starting with lower groundwater levels.

Little rain until February, and less rain than usual in February

”.

Result according to him: "

the situation is more serious than last year at the same time and we are two months behind on the recharge of groundwater

".

"

All the indicators are red

", he added, specifying that this situation of "

water stress

" is of an "

unprecedented

" nature.

Read alsoDried up rivers, emptied lakes: images of winter drought in Europe

Faced with this phenomenon and while four departments are already experiencing water restrictions in France (Isère, Var, Bouches-du-Rhône and Pyrénées-Orientales), and ten others are under surveillance, Christophe Béchu has confirmed the establishment by Matignon of an interministerial unit at the beginning of March to monitor the situation and anticipate other measures.

While the government is working on a "

water plan

" to find sustainable solutions to the drying up of drinking water resources linked to climate change, Christophe Béchu mentioned several avenues, including that of multiplying the stations allowing water to be reused for consumption. waste water: "

we have 30,000 sanitation stations but only 77 of them can clean up wastewater for reuse

", he regretted, specifying that we "

are depriving ourselves of millions of cubic meters

".

The objective of the water plan, assigned by the assizes of water, a consultation between actors and elected officials which delivered its conclusions in 2020, is to reduce drinking water consumption by 10% at the national level.

This requires a change in irrigation methods, said Christophe Béchu, referring to the development of a drip irrigation model.

As for the agricultural basins, which are the subject of strong criticism from activists and elected environmentalists, they are for the minister "

a necessary solution to support the movement, which works in certain circumstances but not in others

" .

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2023-02-26

You may like

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.