While water tables are recharging in many regions of France, the Pyrénées-Orientales and Aude continue to suffer from a worrying drought. Despite some rain in October, these departments recorded historically low water levels.
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While water tables recharged in many French regions in October, the Pyrénées-Orientales and Aude continue to suffer from a worrying drought. Despite a wet year over a large part of France, these two departments of Occitanie recorded historically low groundwater levels, according to the latest situation bulletin from the Bureau of Geological and Mining Research (BRGM).
The BRGM notes that, overall, “the water table levels are excess in October since 78% are above monthly normals. However, the situation remains critical in the far south, where the lack of precipitation for more than two years has plunged the water tables of the plain of Roussillon and the Corbières massif at “historical minimums“. In its report, the public establishment underlines that the rains in October were not enough to reverse this trend in the Pyrénées-Orientales and Aude, thus aggravating an already alarming rainfall deficit.
These sectors are among the rare in France where the water tables have not benefited from “effective rains in spring then more occasionally in summer” which have largely contributed to groundwater recharge in other regions. This contrast is striking with cities like Paris, Nice and Strasbourg, where average annual accumulations were reached in September, favoring a rapid rise in water tables. Météo-France thus indicates that the year 2024 promises to be particularly wet for the metropolis, where the level of water tables is often in excess.
However, in the south, the Pyrénées-Orientales and Aude are far from this favorable situation. The BRGM observes a situation which “remains worrying“in these departments, even though the weather forecasts for the coming months are not”not optimistic” regarding an improvement. In these regions, signs of winter drought could persist, highlighting the difficulty of recharging aquifers already in structural deficit.
The impacts of this alarming situation on local activities, particularly agricultural activities, are already perceptible, and residents fear prolonged water restrictions in 2025 if the situation does not improve. While the abundant recharge of aquifers in other regions could pose flooding risks, particularly in the Paris basin and the central massif, the Pyrénées-Orientales and Aude face an opposite threat, that of a shortage of water. sustainable water.
Faced with this situation, the BRGM continues to monitor the evolution of water tables and warns of the importance of water resources management in these critical areas.
