The prefect’s decision to place the department on “drought vigilance” is the consequence of a start to the year marked by milder temperatures than the averages usually observed and by a significant rainfall deficit.
No immediate restriction but a call for good citizenship
This measure results, moreover, from the decision to lower the objective of low water level support for the Loire at Gien (Loiret) to the value of 48 m³/s, taken by the prefect of the Centre-Val-de -Loire, coordinator of the Loire-Brittany basin, with regard to the hydrological and climatic situations in her region. This decision affects, in fact, the departmental decrees which define the framework of intervention to deal with an episode of drought in Haute-Loire. In view of this situation, the prefectural decree of Wednesday May 25 places the entire department at the “vigilance” level.
At this stage, this does not entail any particular restrictions. “However, citizens are called upon to adopt economical management of water, whether it comes from withdrawals from rivers or from public distribution networks. Each citizen must show good citizenship in order to avoid undermining the resource”, indicates the prefect of Haute-Loire in a press release. The managers of drinking water distribution units are, for their part, invited to precisely monitor the situation of their water resources.
If the lack of precipitation were to continue, a new decree of restrictions could be issued in the days or weeks to come.
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