The Rhône-Mediterranean basin, “one of the most exposed globally to the effects of climate change”, will benefit from an increase of 65 million euros in the amount of its aid to preserve water resources, announced Friday the ‘Water Agency.
A target of 10% reduction in water withdrawn by 2030
In sixty years, the soils have dried out, on an annual average, by +18% to +37% in the Rhône-Mediterranean basin. On a global scale, it is one of the sectors where droughts would be the most frequent and most marked by 2050, warns the Rhône-Mediterranean-Corsica Water Agency, which organized a press conference on Friday. .
This envelope of 65 million euros for 2024 is part of the water plan announced in March by President Emmanuel Macron providing for the release of an additional 475 million euros per year to better manage the resource on the national territory. The executive had announced the objective of achieving a 10% reduction in water withdrawn by 2030.
Of this sum of 65 million, 35 million will be dedicated to reducing leaks from communities on drinking water networks, 25 million will be used for “sobriety approaches” and water savings in industry, agriculture and services and finally 5 million euros for the preservation of wetlands, explained the Water Agency.
This new plan “provides an updated assessment of knowledge of the effects of climate change on water resources which shows the urgency to act”, underlined Hélène Michaux, director of the program and interventions department. “The Rhône river has already lost 15% of its flow in summer” and “should still see its summer flow drop by 20% in the next 30 years,” she said.