66% of France's groundwater sites below monthly norms, authorities say

Two-thirds of groundwater monitoring sites in France were below monthly normal levels as of Oct. 1, the French Geological Survey (BRGM) said Thursday, according to broadcaster BFM. “With 66% of observation points having levels below monthly norms, the groundwater situation remains very concerning,” the geological survey said in its monthly bulletin. It said groundwater levels were continuing to decline across France, while the usual trend at this time of year would be the beginning of seasonal replenishment. France experienced its hottest summer on record, with an average 24-hour temperature of 24C (75.2F), 3.6C (6.5F) above the 1991-2020 average, according to the report. Low rainfall during the summer contributed to severe drought conditions, which have continued into October. According to the VigiEau water information service, 79 French departments were under “crisis” restrictions and 14 under “heightened alert” measures at the start of October, limiting water use. Some 94,000 people in metropolitan France were without running water at the end of September, 30,000 more than at the beginning of the month, according to the Environment Ministry. Groundwater levels were degraded across most of the country, the BRGM said, with some exceptions in the southeast, including the Vistrenque aquifers in the Gard region and the Astien sands around Valras-Agde in the Herault region. The survey also identified particularly low levels in several aquifer systems, including those in Limousin, Morvan, Livradois, Forez and Vivarais, as well as Champagne, Jura, Vosges, Lorraine and northern Alsace. The BRGM said “inertial” aquifers, which can take months or years to respond to changes, continued to decline, while levels in almost all “reactive” aquifers, which can respond to rainfall within weeks, were also falling.