Faced with the drought, the mayor of Elne took an unprecedented decision in the department. Until April 30, 2023, it is forbidden for the inhabitants of the municipality to build a new swimming pool or to dig a borehole.
The decree has just been signed. Until April 30 in Elne, building permits for individual swimming pools or boreholes will be systematically refused.
“No drilling (except in the case of housing not served by the collective network), nor any construction of a private swimming pool, will be granted in the municipality of Elne”, explains the town hall.ur sa page Facebook.
This decision taken by the mayor of the town, Nicolas Garcia, is intended to prevent the consequences of increased drought.
If today we do not issue severe decrees to protect the water tables in which we pump for drinking water and nourishing agriculture, in a few weeks we will no longer be able to use water, except for food needs.
The inhabitants of a residential district of Elne understand the approach but it comes a little late: in the town, nearly 25 new swimming pools are built each year. “It should have been done in advance and not built so many swimming pools because now almost all the houses have one”, notes an Illiberian.
Yet among professionals in the sector, this decision is experienced as an injustice: for them the swimming pool is not the main source of water use.
“It’s super easy to point to residential swimming pools but that doesn’t reduce the problem, it’s a drop in the ocean of the leaks that there are in France on the water network”, laments Stéphanie Morin, Marketing Director of Fluidra.
Indeed, according to the Federation of Swimming Pool and Spa Professionals, the water needs of swimming pools represent only 0.15% of annual consumption in France.
The measure follows those taken by the Prefecture of Pyrénées-Orientales regarding drought. While in the department, the water deficit is currently 217 mm.
On Facebook, the town hall of Elne reminds the prefectural decree published at the end of February, which subjects the city to various prohibitions “pto preserve water resources”.
If the decree is in force until April 30, 2023, it may be extended without further rain by then.
