Drought intensifies water crisis in French municipalities

France’s Ecological Transition Minister Christophe Béchu said that Pyrénées-Orientales will be officially declared at drought crisis level from 10 May, according to BBC reported on Saturday.

The Pyrénées-Orientales joins another three districts where the drought is officially at crisis level. Furthermore, around half of the country is at alert or vigilance levels. Follows declaring the crisis status bans on garden-watering, pool-filling, and car-washing.

“Climate change is here and now. We need to get out of our culture of abundance. We need to show far more restraint in how we use the resources we have,” the Minister asserted.

However, the minister also commented “when you are in a crisis like this, it is really quite simple: it’s drinking water and nothing else.”

President Emmanuel Macron has announced on March a water saving plan to be applied nationwide. The plan includes measures making water more expensive for excessive water usage after basic needs are covered.

The country has witnessed this year a dry winter which made underground water levels reach dangerously low levels. France has also witnessed last summer the worst recorded drought when 400 municipalities had to be provided with mobile cisterns.