It was still one of the four departments placed on drought vigilance with Jura, Lozère and Savoie. But for a few days, the threat has moved away in Ille-et-Vilaine where the authorities have just lifted the state of vigilance which had been in force since December 15. If the beginning of December had been dry, the Christmas holidays were indeed wet, to say the least. Ditto at the beginning of the year when it rained a lot and often in the department.
This had the effect of effectively replenishing the rivers, like the Meu, which had been showing extremely low levels since this scorching summer. The rainfall in recent weeks has also been beneficial for the soil, which now shows “a soil moisture index above the daily median”, according to data from Météo-France.
Continue sobriety efforts
Well dug during the year, the level of the dams, starting with that of Chèze, the largest water reservoir in the department, also rose thanks to the rains of December and the beginning of the year. So many parameters that have therefore led the authorities to lift the state of drought vigilance in the department.
The prefecture of Ille-et-Vilaine calls in spite of everything to continue the efforts of sobriety. “This lifting should not be a signal to stop the efforts to reduce water consumption pursued by individuals, industrialists, communities and farmers for several months,” she warns in a press release. A new situation update will be carried out in March to take stock of the year 2022 and take stock of the winter recharge of the aquifers and the filling of the reservoirs.