The drought that devastates the Pyrénées-Orientales: it is forbidden to buy plastic pools, wash the car or water the garden
The drought is not only affecting our country this year, France is also suffering from one of the biggest water shortages in its history. Four departments have already declared extreme drought alert and many are imposing very restrictive measures to try to combat it.
Bouches-du-Rhône, Gard and Var were the first departments to activate the alert and as of May 10, the Pyrénées-Orientales, a region adjacent to Catalonia, which reaches the Mediterranean beaches, have joined. So extreme is the situation due to the low level of rivers, reservoirs and groundwater that the French Minister of the Environment, Christophe Béchu, has ordered that forceful measures be taken.
“In the Eastern Pyrenees we have not seen a single full day of rain for a year. In the face of a crisis like this -he added-, things are very simple: water is for drinking and for nothing else”.
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And the prefecture has taken it to the letter since it has tightened the restrictions on agricultural irrigation and prohibited the use of spas, the watering of orchards and green spaces, the filling of private pools and even the purchase of plastic pools.
On golf courses, irrigation is only allowed from 8:00 p.m. to 02:00 a.m., if the water comes from a reuse system, and car washing is only allowed at stations where 70% of the water is recycled. water.
The restrictions, ordered for the moment until June 13, affect the Agly and Têt hydrographic basins, the two main rivers of Roussillon, where agricultural activity is concentrated, as well as the aquifers of Aspres, a mountainous area, and the mediterranean coastline. where the spas of Argelès-sur-Mer, Collioure or Canet-en-Roussillon are located. On the beaches, the operation of showers is prohibited.
Visiting the Pyrénées-Orientales, the Minister of Agriculture, Marc Fesneau, tried to reassure farmers by promising compensation for the losses suffered due to the exceptional drought. “It is a crisis situation like that of Covid. We will cover crop loss or loss of funds,” he announced, referring to tree growers who will likely lose not only their crop but also their trees.