The month of February is drawing to a close and the media are sounding the alarm: “It hasn’t rained in France since last January 21”. Everyone remembers the intense drought of the summer of 2022 with consequences in terms of water restrictions. Unfortunately, this “historic” drought is likely to be only the beginning of a long series since the groundwater level is not recovering, which bodes gloomy prospects for water resources, starting next summer.
Awareness of the scarcity of water resources
The Water Information Center measures, every year, the opinion of the French people on water and its service, but the survey having taken place between the months of May and June 2022, i.e. just before the peaks heat waves that the country went through throughout the summer, a new survey was carried out on the French in October 2022 on a few major indicators related to the subject.
Unsurprisingly, between May-June and October of the year 2022, i.e. before the summer drought and after, the results show a sharper environmental sensitivity of the French, particularly in terms of the attention they pay to the resource or their acceptance of a need to change their habits :
- 92% believe that climate change has an impact on water shortage and drought (compared to 83% before summer 2022),
- 92% say they pay attention to the quantities of water consumed (compared to 87% before summer 2022),
- 89% say they are ready to change their lifestyle to adopt more sober consumption habits (compared to 79% before summer 2022),
- but awareness of the threats to water resources fades as age increases: 48% of people aged 65 and over do not think there is a lack of water in their region, whereas only 20% think so among 18-24 year olds,
Solutions that become acceptable
The depollution of wastewater is becoming an environmental issue. The fear of running out of water is increasing, especially in the south of France, and faced with this, the reuse of treated wastewater is an alternative that could be considered beyond irrigation or watering then that for the moment, only 0.8% of wastewater is reused…
Nearly three-quarters (74%) believe that reusing treated wastewater to draw less on resources is a very important solution. The French would increasingly agree to use tap water from recycled wastewater for:
- domestic uses (hygiene, sanitation, cleaning, etc.): 86%,
- consume vegetables watered with depolluted wastewater: 80%,
- drink recycled tap water: 62%.
However, if the majority of French people are aware of the need for change, more than two thirds hope to be able to use technological advances to maintain their comfort and still more than a quarter call in spite of everything to keep their habits!
Economical practices to be emphasized
On Thursday February 23, Christophe Béchu, Minister for Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion, and Bérangère Couillard, Secretary of State for Ecology are to chair the first Hydrological Anticipation and Monitoring Committee (CASH) of the year to inform user representatives about the current and projected hydrological situation in anticipation and prevention of drought risks in the territory. In the meantime, it is urgent to change our practices in the garden and on a daily basis, for example:
- recover water either through rainwater collectors, or by recovering gray water (cooking or washing water),
- pay attention to any water leaks,
- prefer a shower, less than 6 minutes, rather than a bath,
- avoid washing your car at home in favor of a car wash,
- protect its facilities from freezing,
- use pressure reducers,
- regularly check the index of your water meter,
- respect the water restriction measures,
- adopt water-efficient irrigation systems,
- innovate with dry toilets or phytopurification systems, etc.
* annual barometer historically conducted by Tns-Sofres, now Kantar.
Written by Nathalie on 02/23/2023