This is a first in France. From this weekend, water will cost more in Toulouse. In this city in the South of the country, affected in recent years by a serious drought, it is a question of making residents responsible for their consumption.
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The water consumed by the million inhabitants of the Toulouse metropolitan area comes from the Garonne. But the flow of this river has been reducing for years under the effects of climate change. A scarcity of water resources which is likely to last. For the city authorities there is therefore no other choice: citizens must change their behavior and use water as a limited and therefore precious resource.
To achieve this, the town hall has decided to strike hard: during the hottest months, between June and October, the price of a cubic meter of water must increase by 42%. During the winter, however, the price will drop, minus 30% compared to the initial price. “ We need a strong measure which, I hope, will lead to changes in behavior”explained Saturday on FranceinfoJean-Luc Moudenc, mayor of Toulouse and president of Toulouse Métropole.
“Sadapt to climate change »
Toulouse town hall maintains that this measure will cost less than one Euro per year for low-income families, but 90 Euros for a family who lives in a house with a swimming pool. Also, ” seasonal water pricing will not penalize households with stable consumption over the year “, said the Eau de Toulouse Métropole company in a press release which specifies that this measure is “ to adapt to climate change “.
This first seasonal pricing is an experiment. It is watched closely by other cities inFrance who may, in the future, be forced to take a similar path.