The winter of 2022-2023 has not allowed rivers and water tables to return to normal levels of replenishment. The recharge deficits recorded over almost the entire metropolitan territory herald serious difficulties in terms of access to water resources during the summer of 2023.
During the summer of 2022, the temperatures observed in France were abnormally high. If we add the low rainfall observed in the 1st quarter of 2023, these 2 phenomena lead to a strong risk of an accentuation of drought.
To adapt the country to climate change, President Emmanuel Macron has just presented his government's "Water Plan", on March 30, 2023.
This action plan for resilient and concerted management, sets out 53 concrete measures to meet these major challenges.
Its objective is simple: to reduce water resources in our country by 30 to 40% by 2050.
A first target is set for 2030 : to achieve 10% water savings in all sectors.
Six axes were defined in this perspective during the presentation of this plan in Savines-le-Lac where the Serre-Ponçon lake is located, particularly affected by the drought last summer.
The Minister for Ecological Transition, Christophe Béchu, recalled that "we began the autumn with a lower level due to the summer drought, we experienced 32 days of winter drought and the month of March did not allow the level of the water tables to recover", adding that "some departments have not lifted restrictions since last summer".
Setting up a "water Ecowatt"
After the Ecowatt and Ecogaz tools launched last autumn to help the French adopt their energy consumption, a similar scheme will see the light of day for water. It's called the Ecowatt for water. It is due to be introduced during May 2023. (Government source)
This new device will provide information on the state of water resources in one's territory. This tool will also provide information on the "restrictions that apply according to one's geolocation and user category, and the ecogestures recommended with regard to the local hydrological situation."
The State therefore wants to encourage the French to save water during the summer of 2023, which looks complicated in view of the first months of this year, which have been catastrophic in terms of rainfall.
The application, although national, will provide information "territory by territory". It will then be up to the prefects to set the "rules for sharing and good use of water".
Restrictions will therefore differ from one department to another.
The important thing to remember is that the aim is to get everyone involved (citizens, farmers, business leaders, mayors...), to limit the risks of drought as much as possible.
Extending sobriety across all sectors and over time
According to the estimate used, the forecast indicates that by 2050 climate change should lead to a 30% to 40% drop in available water for our country. This concerns all sectors, but some are particularly more affected than others.
First and foremost, hydro-electric production
The Head of State has announced an investment program - not quantified - to adapt nuclear power plants, France's third largest consumer of water for cooling, to global warming.About 12% of the water consumed in France is used by power plants, he said.
"We need to adapt our nuclear power plants to climate change by undertaking a vast investment program to save water and enable them to operate much more in closed circuits", he declared.
In these areas, sobriety will depend on innovation and therefore on investment. In nuclear power, for example, cooling water, which is currently discharged, will have to be used in a closed circuit, which will require major investment.
For hydroelectricity, the water retained in the artificial lakes of dams, has multiple uses and rules will have to be defined that are adapted to each territory concerned.
Secondly, industry
Industry is the second sector concerned, as high-consumption industries need to be adapted to climate change.
This Water Plan first emphasizes the need to continue the country's recent reindustrialization. With the corollary that industrial sites, which create jobs, must also be decarbonized and sober in their use of water : production of batteries, hydrogen, " green ;"....
Fighting leaks by modernizing the network
Today's findings highlight the extent of leaks : one in five liters of water is lost in the network before it reaches the consumer's tap.
And in some territories, the loss is even 1 liter in 2 !
"It's an aberrant situation that we must correct as a matter of urgency," said Emmanuel Macron, presenting the situation as "the fruit of historic underinvestment" as well as the habit of not paying or charging the right price for water.
In his water plan, the President of the Republic has therefore emphasized the hunt for leaks in pipes.
A total of 170 "black spots" have been listed by the State services. These are 170 communes, intercommunalités or syndicates that have been identified, where 50% of water is lost in the pipes, i.e. one liter out of two wasted,
These black spots will be the focus of priority work.
The aim is then to modernize networks to eliminate leaks, install smart meters and adapt pricing to volumes consumed.
To remedy this and support the most vulnerable territories, 180 of the 475 million euros in aid "will be dedicated to the small water cycle" from 2024.
This aid to local authorities will be "conditional on performance targets for the management of their assets".
In the 2,000 communes that found themselves close to a situation of drinking water supply disruption during last summer's drought, safety work will also be carried out.
Investments to reuse wastewater and mobilize new resources
In France less than 1% of wastewater is reprocessed for reuse.
This is one of the answers to the growing scarcity of soft
water resources, providing additional quantities of good
quality water, ensuring the natural purification cycle as well as protecting
the environment.
Wastewater reuse
The aim is to reach 10% by 2030. With this in mind, 1,000 projects are to be launched over the next 5 years for the recycling and reuse of grey water, which is entirely feasible given the expertise of industrial players in this field.
The French government has also committed to creating a dedicated observatory, to capitalize on feedback and raise awareness of these techniques among local authorities.
Treated wastewater generally comes from wastewater treatment plants. It comes from domestic, industrial or runoff use.
The reuse of treated wastewater is part of a sober approach. It is part of concerted water resource management (territorial management of the resource as well as leakage, improved treatment, agro-ecological practices...).
The recycling and reuse of grey water
"Grey water" or "wastewater" groups together all domestic water sources except those from toilet flushing. This includes drained water from sinks, showers and washing machines.
This water, which is not drinkable, cannot be drunk. It can be reused after undergoing treatment.
It accounts for almost 40% of our daily drinking water consumption.
Planning water uses according to our agricultural model
Water, essential to agriculture, is weakened by climate change.In this respect, any new agricultural infrastructure must be based on 3 pillars:
- Adaptation to tomorrow's climate, with the need for a diagnosis of available water, the nature of the soil, and the crop envisaged, which can be the subject of installation aid.
- Irrigation planned to save on consumption : drip, implementation of an intelligent system.... Adoption of other cropping patterns and /or transfer to other territories of the Republic.
- Evolution of water storage through attention to soil condition, the first concerned to retain water and favor groundwater recharge (trees - hedges ... able to retain water). Creation of a fund for agricultural hydraulics that could be useful for several purposes (biodiversity - tourism....) and promote pesticide reduction.
Water is essential to agriculture and our food sovereignty. The prospect leads to an increase in irrigated surfaces through the extension of agricultural land.
Implement appropriate pricing in all areas of use
Sustainable water management requires expenditure and investment relating to both water cycles.
-the small cycle comprising drinking water production, wastewater treatment and maintenance of distribution and collection networks
-the large cycle relating to reducing pollution and improving the condition of aquatic environments.
The financing of these two cycles is based on two principles.
"Water pays for water"
Water is a common good, and the need remains to guarantee all French people high-quality drinking water for essential needs. The aim is therefore to set up a progressive and responsible pricing system.
The principle is to maintain a tariff close to cost price for everyday needs : drinking - washing - and practicing domestic uses.
Above a certain level corresponding to comfort consumption, pricing will have to increase, which should also encourage the necessary sobriety.
The "polluter - payer principle"
This principle is enshrined in the Environment Code (Barnier Law of 1995). Expenditure on preventing and reducing pollution must be borne by the polluter. This is done through taxes and fees on activities and uses that generate pollution in aquatic environments, which correspond to the financing of actions to reduce pollution as well as sustainable water management.
Fees are collected by water agencies, which pay them out in the form of financial aid to local authorities, farmers and industrialists.
In his speech on March 30, the French President indicated that the annual water budget in France is in the order of 20 billion euros, and that all the measures proposed in the Water Plan represent an additional annual cost of 6 billion euros.
Conclusion
Water is an indispensable resource for our health, our ecosystem and our economy. It is essential for the consumption of drinking water, for domestic, agricultural and industrial uses, and for energy.
It is a resource under pressure as a marker of climate change.
It has therefore become essential to plan and organize the preservation of this resource.
The action plan for resilient and concerted management, which has just been drawn up, sets out 53 concrete measures to meet these major challenges.