To deal with the successive droughts which have been plaguing the south of France for several years, particularly in Hérault, and to anticipate the summer, the Department set up, in 2018, a “Hérault irrigation” plan. “, a €300 million plan. In this context, the community is working, among other things, on a project to create winter water reservoirs (reservoirs) in Biterrois – one in Florensac (950,000 m3), one in Pouzolles l’étang (700,000 m3). Two other so-called secondary reservoirs would depend on the latter: a second in Pouzolles, a third in Magalas. From this commune, two other networks would leave for two other basins: one in Autignac, the other in Caussiniojouls. The departmental project now provides for the construction of a total of six reservoirs (compared to nine initially studied). These winter water reservoirs, capable of storing a total of 4.5 million m3 of water in winter, are intended mainly for agricultural irrigation (85% are winegrowers) during difficult periods. From these reservoirs, communities and firefighters will also be able to draw the resource.
These reserves will be supplied by BRL, a vast underground network created in the 1950s to transport water from the Rhône to crops. It has been reinforced, for several years, by Aqua Domitia, a link which connects the Rhône to the Orb (a pipeline which extends the water of the river from Mauguio to West Hérault), “and not in groundwater nor by diverting watercourses“, specifies Yvon Pellet, deputy vice-president for agricultural economics and rural development.
The Department regularly organizes public meetings to present its project. Who must face opposition, from local residents or ecological associations (France nature environment, Coord'eau 34, Terres de Lène, etc.) for whom “we must, first of all, change agricultural practices”. For others, the project can only be transitory, taking time to find lasting solutions (selecting resistant species or grape varieties, using treated water, etc.).
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