In Charente-Maritime, the influx of tourists puts pressure on water needs. However, the quantity of drinking water is already fragile, because it rained very little in the last semester. This Friday, August 5, 2022, the prefecture took new measures to limit the use of water. The Eau 17 union also calls for monitoring its consumption.
With the massive arrival of tourists in July, water resources are highly mobilized. The drought due to the heat wave implies greater water needs as well. Total bans on taking water from certain basins for irrigation were taken this morning. The Boutonne basin is the most in crisis: it is now totally impossible to draw water from it.
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“We have two problems: winter and spring droughts. It hardly rained in the first half of the year, so there was no groundwater recharge, and the flow of the rivers remained quite low. “, testifies Denis Minot, the director of the Eau 17 union.
Two-thirds of drinking water comes from underground water and one-third from surface water, mainly from the Charente river. This year, the rainfall deficit amounts to 200 millimeters, or 35% less than usual. “We have drawn on drinking water resources for agricultural use, and that makes the situation complicated”.
According to Denis Minot, some shallow water tables are below the lowest levels known so far. “On the other hand, in the south and in the center of the department, we have deeper captive aquifers which hold up better in periods of drought since their renewal cycle is much slower. »
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Hold until September
The syndicate manages the water resource in such a way as to hold out until low water, the time of year when the water level is at its lowest, in September. “We still have to hold out for a while, even if from September, we will inevitably have reductions in consumption, because the tourist season will be over. »
Beyond drinking water, Denis Minot is worried about the state of waterways and groundwater levels. “If it does not rain in August or very little, which seems to be looming over the next few weeks, the situation will continue to deteriorate. The flow of the Charente river is going down in a rather serious way ”.
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