As summer approaches, this is good news on the drought front and the aniseed aperitifs that the Geological and Mining Research Office (BRGM). According to him, as of April 1, the groundwater situation has improved. It is thus considered “satisfactory over a large part of the territory” with 58% of levels above normal.
A situation which makes BRGM specialists “optimistic” even if they remain “cautious”. Recharging “remains active on most aquifers” and “64% of observation points are increasing,” notes hydrogeologist Violaine Bault.
Black spots especially in the South
A picture which is therefore generally turning blue compared to April of last year where, let us remember, 75% of the levels were below normal. Only the water tables in the west of the Mediterranean rim (west Hérault, Aude and Pyrénées-Orientales) maintain lower levels than in March 2023 while, bleak, the situation remains stable but low in Sundgau (south Alsace), in the south-southeast and southeast of Corsica.
Our drought file
With a little hope however to see some rains wet the lemonade during this recharge period, which should end in April or May. Despite this final spring recharge, it is very unlikely, for Aude, the Pyrénées-Atlantiques or the west of Roussillon, that “the volumes of water infiltrated during this period will be able to compensate for the deficits accumulated over the past two years”, warns the BRGM. There, “the restrictions on groundwater are not going to be lifted throughout this summer, we are not going to see the prefectural water restriction orders lifted before the rains in the fall, that would really be very surprising”, warns the BRGM.