Bandol and Six-Fours-les-Plages, in the Var, decided to cut off the water in their beach showers on Wednesday August 10. On the Côte d’Azur, only a dozen municipalities have taken similar measures, while the drought continues to affect the region.
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Since the beginning of the summer, the prefectures have multiplied the restrictions on the use of water by the municipalities due to the drought. Whether they are on vigilance, alert, heightened alert or in crisis, the four levels of severity concerning drought, municipalities have a list of guidelines to follow.
However, the showers at the beach do not appear anywhere in these decrees because they are part of the “mayor’s powers”, indicates the Var prefecture. Municipalities are then free to do as they see fit with regard to this use of drinking water.
In Menton, beach showers have been cut since April 1, when the drought alert was first announced in Menton territory. “There was no obligation, it was a choice of the mayor”, indicates the communication of the city. The mayor has not wanted to lift this ban since, the level of drought severity having increased over the summer.
Antibes is at the level of “crisis”, just like Menton. However, the municipality has not decided to stop its showers. Economic shower heads and push buttons set to the minimum have been installed, the city’s communication told France 3 Côte d’Azur. The decision to keep the showers in working order responds to a logic “between the tourist welcome essential for a seaside resort of international renown and whose attractiveness leads to a doubling of the summer population and the management of the resource”, responds the city. “For these reasons and particularly for health reasons, the municipality has therefore decided to maintain these showers at reduced flow for the 2022 summer season”, she adds.
Same system in Nice, whose level of drought is placed on “enhanced alert”.
The city of Nice is aiming for sobriety in the consumption of water resources globally, for all non-essential uses, and throughout the year.
In Cannes and Théoule-sur-Mer, two cities in simple drought vigilance, similar measures have been taken. Push buttons limit water waste by reducing the flow and duration of the shower. In Cannes, a sign has also been placed near the beach showers to invite users to use the water in moderation.
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In the Var, many municipalities have decided to cut off the water from beach showers. Hyères, Ramatuelle or even Saint-Tropez made the decision at the end of July. Two other municipalities were added to the list on Wednesday August 10: Bandol and Six-Fours-les-Plages, which went into drought vigilance on August 9.
“Even if heprefectural decree does not mention beach showersit seemed logical to us not to leave the water points open”, explains Frédéric Metey, director of cabinet at the town hall of Bandol. “We think that it is not a vital need to rinse after the beach, we can save it especially in this context”, he adds.
Jean-Sébastien Vialatte, Mayor of Six-Fours-les-Plages, confirms:
It seems indecent to me to continue to supply the beach showers when we supply the municipalities of the Var with tank trucks, we must show solidarity.
Indeed, Bargemon and Ollières, two Var villages were deprived of drinking water for several days because the water tables were dry… Others are supplied by tank truck because the level of the water reserves is too low.
A shower consumes about 6 liters of water per minute. In Menton, the shutdown of the showers had a strong impact on the town’s water consumption.
In 2020, 731 cubic meters of water were consumed on average per day during the summer. We went to 562 cubic meters the following year. At the end of July 2022, we noticed that we consume between 150 and 450 cubic meters.
This drastic decrease is due to the water cut off at the thirty or so beach showers, as well as to the restrictive measures taken following the difficulties caused by storm Alex to draw water from the groundwater.
Finally, no municipality whose beach showers have been stopped has been forced to make this decision. Some municipalities like Menton and Six-Fours-les-Plages say they have found this “logic” reading the many water restrictions imposed by the prefectures. “When the mayor saw that it was indicated that water games were prohibited, he thought that outdoor showers were included in this category”, indicates the town hall of Menton.
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