Water restrictions in France set to last into autumn as drought deepens

A leading scientist has warned that drought conditions in France could continue into autumn and even winter in many areas as the country continues to grapple with the impact of a summer of unprecedented heat. 

Hydrologist Eric Sauquet, a river expert  who works on climate change and its effect on water resources at public research body INRAE in Lyon, warned that water restrictions could remain in place well past summer.

“If we look at what happened in 2022 – which also experienced severe low-water conditions – by early December, 28 departments were still subject to water-use restrictions,” Dr Sauquet told The Connexion in a wide-ranging interview about the environmental and social impacts of the extreme heatwaves that have gripped France this summer. 

Dr Sauquet’s predictions about ongoing drought conditions come amid signs some French departments are already preparing for water shortages into the autumn.  

Restrictions to end of September 

In Vosges, for example, the prefect has placed all of the department’s river basins at crise, the highest drought level, with measures applying until September 30 unless the situation improves. 

The prefecture said river flows remain very low, groundwater levels continue to fall and expected rainfall would not be sufficient to durably improve the situation.

In Marne, authorities also warned on August 21 that measures could become more restrictive in the coming weeks. The department said groundwater levels and river flows had reached historically low levels, with the Grand Morin basin moved to alerte renforcée and several other basins already at the same level.

The continuing restrictions are also being upheld despite legal challenges in some areas. In Alpes-Maritimes, the administrative court rejected on August 25 a request by several local authorities to suspend a prefectural drought order. The order had placed the downstream Siagne basin at alerte renforcée, requiring measures including a ban on watering green spaces and flower beds and the closure of beach showers in 10 communes.

As of August 27, 77 departments are experiencing the highest level of water restrictions due to drought, known as crise, while a further 15 are at alerte renforcée, four at alerte and three at vigilance. Only two departments currently have no specific measures in place. 

You can check whether if your department is affected by water restrictions in the map below or by visiting the VigiEau website. 

On the map, dark red indicates crise (the highest level of restrictions), red indicates alerte renforcée, orange indicates alerte, and yellow indicates vigilance while light blue indicates no water restrictions in place. 

Tap water cut off  

Earlier this month, more than 40,000 people had already seen their drinking water supplies cut off. In some communes where springs have dried up or water supplies are insufficient to meet local needs, authorities have resorted to tanker deliveries or bottled water. 

Rivers and streams are at historically low levels, with serious consequences for agriculture and biodiversity and dozens of canal locks are shut so they are no longer navigable.

Groundwater levels depleted 

At the same time, Dr Sauquet said that groundwater levels in the country had been seriously depleted despite being higher than usual coming into this summer following a relatively wet winter.

“However, we had a rainfall deficit this year, coupled with very, very high temperatures very early in the year – which meant surface water resources plummeted quickly,” he said. 

"Today the vast majority of monitored watercourses are well below the historical average.”

Dr Sauquet’s claims are confirmed by figures from the Bureau of Geological and Mining Research (BRGM), which showed 92% of monitored groundwater sites recording falling levels on August 15, while 64% were below their usual level for the time of year.

The BRGM said the decline was linked to a lack of effective rainfall during the second half of July and the first half of August, with particularly low levels recorded in areas including Limousin, the limestone aquifers of Jura and those in the Côtes des Bars.

Soils are now very dry, meaning rainfall is not necessarily translating into replenished groundwater. Storms can produce heavy localised downpours without providing the sustained rainfall needed to properly rehydrate the ground and refill underground reserves.

This means that even where temperatures begin to fall, the underlying water shortage may take considerably longer to ease. 

Climate change 

Dr Sauquet said that despite a scientific consensus that the summer heatwaves are part of global warming, there were still those who refused to believe in the reality of climate change, “but we hope that science is becoming better at making its voice heard and that the last people to be convinced are now becoming convinced.” 

Asked about the next 10 years, he said while it was complicated to make predictions in the medium term, “Overall, we are heading towards warmer years, and the closer we get to the end of the 21st century, the lower the probability of cool summers becomes.”