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All concerned, all responsible. Water consumption is everyone’s business. It is this pool that you will fill several times during the summer; that trickle of water that you let run when you brush your teeth or shampoo your hair; those plants that you water daily; these untimely showers several times a day; this stadium watered in the middle of the afternoon … While we only need to turn on the tap to have water, we do not understand how precious this commodity is, and how scarce it is. While some countries around the world still do not have running water, others continue to abuse it. It goes without saying, and yet … Few consumers are aware that the water they consume on a daily basis for various uses does not come from an unlimited flow. The preciousness of water increases as global warming progresses. For the past five years, the water tables exploited by Eau du Valenciennois have been dry. Contrary to what one might think, the summer rains do not change anything. Only precipitation and snow accumulated in winter can come to the aid of groundwater. However, increasingly mild winters compromise the supply of water tables, making this resource increasingly vulnerable. Human activity being at the origin of global warming, it is appropriate for everyone to be aware of it, in order to radically and immediately change their lifestyles and consumption. If the summer of 2021 has not yet entered its scorching phase, the L’Eau du Valenciennois union has nevertheless activated its prevention plan, in order to anticipate and avoid a possible water crisis, such as the one suffered. in 2019.
Dry tablecloths
since 2017
Low water tables of around twenty meters, this is not the first time. In 1976, or again in 1982, this symbolic floor had been reached. But the affair had lasted “only” 12 months, maximum. In 2017, this same level was reached, without ever going up since… “And we didn’t get out of it... ”, warns Régis Dufourt-Lefort, the president of the union. If the bottom of the borehole can reach 31.5 meters, “drilling lower will not help“, According to experts. Normal drilling is carried out at a depth of – 10 meters. Today, it is carried out at – 23 meters… In this context, what can be done to return to normal levels? In the long term: prevent global warming by modifying our lifestyles, in the public as in the private sector. Immediate: improve the network to have less loss.
2019, dose horribilis
The specter of summer 2019 still hovers above L’Eau du Valenciennois. Two years ago, an emergency text message was sent to 100,000 users asking them to be water efficient. “This year, we are not in crisis, but prevention continues. When the weather is hot, consumption can increase by 40%. We have water reserves for 15 days, but that’s it. We are able to anticipate a crisis 5 days in advance. We are better armed today. 2019 was the first crisis of this level ever experienced in the Valenciennois. ” Since then, the union has worked hard not to relive a similar situation. “We made additional boreholes and water transfers between our different pumping points, to have 160 m3/ h in addition. The other objective was to fight against micro-leaks at the joints on our 1,300 km of pipes. A drop here and there is thousands of meters3 at the end of the year. There are still 10% leaks today. This effort brought us 10 m3/ h additional. We want to increase to 1% of pipeline renewal every year, i.e. 4.5 km / year of network improvement. ” Remote reading, set up to put an end to leaks, is one of the tools that has proven its worth for five years. In the event of abnormal flow, individuals are alerted via an application. More than 8,600 users have been notified since 2016, ie 10% of the 100,000 network users. This made it possible to repair 284,000 m3 leaks every year, the equivalent of one hundred Olympic swimming pools… Just that! These combined efforts made it possible to increase the water capacity by 700 m3 (2019) at 900 m3/ h today. The risk of shortage is remote, nevertheless, the union calls for collective responsibility.
A politic
restriction
necessary in the future
“There has been an upward trend in water users’ consumption for two years. Is this the effect of confinement? Teleworking? Hot weather that arrives much earlier in the season when people have not yet gone on vacation? Still, we must commit to a restriction policy for the years to come. Even at home, in the North. 10 years ago, we would not have believed it, but yes, we are there. All of our daily actions count.”Showers and toilets are the main sources of water consumption. While there is obviously no question of going without showers, and even less flushing the toilet, there are alternatives to reduce consumption, such as economical shower heads, for example. Régis Dufourt-Lefort insists: “no action is trivial!”Whether it is a community, an individual, an industrialist or a firefighter… The union’s demand is collective and massive: let’s find common sense. Our future is at stake.
Drink tap water
70,000 plastic water bottles are consumed every day by Valenciennes residents, while tap water is drinkable and ultra-controlled. Its consumption to quench one’s thirst only represents 0.8% of overall consumption. In other words, consuming tap water does not represent a danger like other uses. And above all, consuming tap water is 300 times cheaper than buying bottled water… Within a few months, the union is committed to achieving a chlorine level below the odor detection threshold. No more excuses!
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