The drought episode continues in the Rhône. A “catastrophic” situation in the Metropolis of Lyon. Illustration at Miribel Jonage Park.
Desiccated and leafless dead trees, corn and sunflower crops with very low yields… The drought has had serious consequences on the natural areas of the Miribel Jonage park near Lyon.
The Eaux Bleues lake, the park’s main water reservoir, “feels less of the stigma” of the drought, because it is a tributary of the Old Rhône. For the other lakes in the park, the situation is more difficult. “Lac de la Forestière, the Allivoz… they have dropped drastically”, explains Calvin Simeon, flora, environment and forest technician at the Grand Parc de Miribel Jonage.
“We are at levels that have not been reached for at least 4 or 5 years, in terms of decline”, he continues at the microphone of BFM Lyon. In the future, “we are on the order of a lowering of more than 50cm of water and therefore lakes which will be reduced to a trickle”.
As a result, “if the water is reduced and the water tables are of poorer quality, we have habitats that will disappear” in the future, sums up the technician.
Biodiversity under threat
Levels that are not exceptional despite everything, because they will recur every year. But according to the deputy to the Metropolis of Lyon in charge of the environment, the frequency of these episodes of drought is more important.
“What makes us in a catastrophic situation today is this recurrence of these episodes of drought”, explains Pierre Athanaze, who underlines the devastating combo of drought combined with the heat wave this year.
The biodiversity of the park is therefore threatened to evolve in the medium and long term. “The day we lose pollinating insects, we will lose 80% of our plants that are pollinated by these insects. That means that our landscapes will have nothing to do with it,” warns the elected official.
Towards a decrease in the flow of the Rhône
In ten years, the metropolis of Lyon has lost 21% of its plant species. “It’s no use getting agitated when it’s too late,” summarizes the deputy to the Metropolis. “We can really regret, even blame the public authorities for not having acted, when we knew perfectly well”, insists Pierre Athanaze.
By 2050, “the models indicate a drop in the average flows of the Rhône between 10 and 40%”, alert on Twitter Bruno Bernard, president of the Métropole de Lyon. In 2022, 93% of the water in the Lyon metropolitan area will come from the groundwater of Lake Miribel Jonage, and therefore from the Rhône aquifer.
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