French mayor increases water prices by seven to make residents pay attention to usage

A French mayor has increased the price of tap water by seven in an effort to encourage residents to cut their consumption as the country faces a widespread drought.

Hervé Girardot, mayor of Pillemoine in Jura in eastern France, made the decision as the source supplying the village with drinking water is close to running dry.

The source is currently producing just two to three cubic metres of water a day, while the village normally needs around 10 cubic metres.

To encourage reduced usage he has raised the price of water from €1.10 to €8 per cubic metre.

The mayor said the 60 residents had previously been warned about the need to save water, but that this had not led to significant changes in their habits.

“We had a similar experience back in 2018 where we had warned residents once, then a second time, and there was no change in their habits,” he said to France 2.

The price increase appears to have had an immediate effect. Water consumption in Pillemoine has fallen by around 20%.

Residents also said they are now paying much closer attention including taking shorter showers and avoiding leaving taps running while washing dishes.

However, the measure has not solved the village's water shortage. The municipality is now expected to buy drinking water from a neighbouring commune, at a cost estimated by Mr Girardot at between €3,000 and €5,000.

For a small village, the mayor said, this is a significant expense.

The situation in Pillemoine comes as water restrictions have tightened across France.

As of August 21, 62 mainland departments and Corsica had at least one commune under the highest crise level of drought restrictions, where almost all non-essential uses of tap water are banned.

A further 30 departments had at least one commune under the second-highest alerte renforcée level.

Overall, 92 departments in mainland France and Corsica had restrictions in force in at least some of their communes, including limits on filling swimming pools, watering lawns and washing cars. 

France has four drought-alert levels: vigilance, alerte, alerte renforcée and crise. At the highest, crise, restrictions are imposed on domestic, agricultural and public water use to preserve supplies for essential needs. 

At the lowest, vigilance, there are no mandatory restrictions, but residents are asked to use water cautiously.

Additionally, around 40,000 people were reported to have lost tap water during the previous week while supplies for around 550,000 residents were considered under strain earlier this month.

Authorities in affected areas have had to bring in water by tanker or provide bottled water to residents.

You can also check the government’s online platform vigieau.gouv.fr to see the current level in your department. 

These restrictions come as groundwater reserves continue to fall. According to the Bureau of Geological and Mining Research (BRGM), 92% of groundwater monitoring sites recorded falling levels on August 15, while 64% were below their usual level for this time of year.

The prolonged period of hot and dry weather has made the situation particularly difficult. Dry soils can absorb less water when heavy rain finally arrives, meaning that sudden downpours can produce flooding without necessarily doing much to replenish underground water reserves.

This was illustrated by storms that hit parts of southern and south-eastern France on August 20. Some areas received the equivalent of several weeks or even a month’s rainfall in just a few hours, causing flash flooding. 

Thus, isolated heavy storms are not enough to end the drought as groundwater reserves need sustained rainfall over several days to properly recover.

However, lower temperatures could help reduce pressure on groundwater by cutting demand for irrigation and drinking water.