Paris residents in water warning

RESIDENTS and businesses in Paris and the Ile de France have been warned to cut down on water usage as levels have fallen after the dry start to the summer.

There are now 43 departments across France with water restrictions in place, with many imposing hosepipe bans and restrictions on filling swimming pools and other water features; washing vehicles and watering gardens.

The prefecture in Paris says people should watch how they use water and not waste it, calling for water to be used in a “rational and economical manner”.

Several years of falling groundwater levels throughout the Paris basin mean that, after a dry winter and reduced rainfall, rivers supplying reservoirs are drying up.

Rivers in Seine-et-Marne and Yonne, which supply drinking water to Paris, have been badly hit.

Farmers and businesses have also been banned from taking water from rivers.

Elsewhere people have been asked to take a shower rather than a bath as showers use just 60 litres of water compared to 150 litres for a bath.

For the map of affected zones, check here:

STORY: Drought warning in the north