The Pyrénées-Orientales will soon switch to crisis level in the face of drought. A decree will soon come to frame new restrictive measures in the department.
The departments around the Mediterranean enter the red zone. The early drought – which never ceases to worry in France – has prompted many municipalities to legislate to deal with the crisis.
In total, 20 departments are currently subject to restrictive measures, compared to 8 at the same time last year. Three departments are at crisis level – Bouches-du-Rhône, Var and Gard – but a fourth territory will also switch soon.
This is the Pyrénées-Orientales. According to the Minister of Ecological Transition, Christophe Béchu, this department has “not had a real rainy day for a year. […] When you are in crisis, it’s simple, nothing is authorized except drinking water”, mentioned the member of the government at the microphone of RTLwhich also specifies that the restrictive measures are decided according to “the reality of groundwater and available water”.
The Minister for Ecological Transition, Christophe Béchu, during his visit to the Pyrénées-Orientales on April 27.
“It takes sobriety”
In these departments, it will therefore be forbidden to water your garden, clean your car in a dedicated laundromat or even fill your swimming pool. Minister Christophe Béchu also indicated that “the sale of above-ground swimming pools […] will be banned” in the Pyrénées-Orientales: “This is the reality of the situation in which we are. Climate change is now, we have to get out of the culture of abundance. […] We need sobriety and optimize our uses,” commented the minister.
If agriculture should be generally spared, “there will be impacts on golf courses, car washes, sales of above-ground swimming pools and drilling”, indicated the prefect. Details concerning these restrictions will be given when a new decree is published on May 9, the day before it comes into force.