“There will be a before and an after summer 2022,” Béchu revealed in an interview with Le Parisien, as he unveiled a plan to reduce water consumption in France, clearly indicating that there is no longer any possibility of doing nothing.

The hot, dry summer of 2022 was marked by a severe drought as well as scorching temperatures, and climate crisis means that such summers are set to become the norm.

Over the summer virtually the whole of France had some sorts of water restrictions in place and several communes lost their drinking water supply entirely. 

“Almost all départements have been affected by restriction measures and 700 municipalities have experienced difficulties in supplying drinking water,” Béchu said.

Even in January,  restrictions are in place in some parts of France, the Propluvia website shows.

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He pointed out that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was warning of a 10 to 40 percent drop in river levels by 2050, and set out a target of cutting the volume of water taken from underground by “a little over” 10 percent by 2027 to ease the problem.

“The first objective is to reduce the volume of groundwater used by a little over 10 percent by the end of the five-year period. That is to say a decrease of 4 billion cubic metres out of a total of 33 collected each year,” he said.

“The best water retention is the water table, which is natural and has no evaporation effect.”

Farmers

Unsurprisingly, the biggest water consumers in France are farmers and agricultural businesses.

Béchu said no additional restrictions would be in place for agricultural water use, but he asked farmers “to be careful with regard to water consumption”.

READ ALSO French farmers warn of rising prices for fruit and vegetables after drought

“There is no agriculture without water and it would be hypocritical to set too many restrictions on French agriculture,” he said. 

Households

Béchu said that plans will be in place before the summer encouraging and obliging individuals to reduce their water consumption – and cited the possibility of introducing hourly restrictions on water use in certain areas. 

He pointed out that enforcing restrictions in July – via traditional methods – would be too late because “we can no longer correct [the problem].”

The Minister also announced plans to develop “a form of Ecowatt water, on which we will find the pressure on water supply locally”. 

The Ecowatt app shows users the risk of power cuts in their areas – the water app would be similar and users will also receive advice on how to reduce their water use.

Building

“We consume 150 litres of water per person per day,” Béchu said. “We must be able to change certain construction rules.”

He estimated that, in some areas, as much as 70 percent of drinking water was lost to leaks – the national average is around 20 percent. “We need to eliminate the black spots and make local players responsible. 

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“This is the work we have undertaken with Bérangère Couillard, the Secretary of State for Ecology. 

“We cannot keep communes managing drinking water alone. The objective of installing water management in inter-municipalities by 2026 must be met.”

Recycling

A measly one percent of wastewater in France is reused, way behind other countries – while toilets use water suitable for drinking.

Béchu said that only 77 of the 33,000 wastewater treatment plants in France are equipped with complete recycling treatment systems. 

“We must … think about rainwater and grey water (domestic water with little pollution) and use common sense,” he said, adding that the rules in France “will evolve”.