In the context of intense drought that a large part of France is going through, the water level is falling on the rivers, rivers and canals of France. It is therefore necessary to save water so as not to fall below the flow necessary for the preservation of aquatic life and by trying to meet the different needs of the population, according to the prefectural decrees taken in the face of drought.
If the many dams built along the rivers fulfill their role quite well to ensure the water flow, the situation is more worrying for the French canals, mainly fed by reservoir dams whose level has dropped significantly.
Cécilevezard, Rhône-Saône territorial director of Voies navigables de France (VNF), which manages 6,700 kilometers of rivers, rivers and canals in France, details the situation at the microphone ofEric Chaurin : “ We therefore observe a filling rate of 60% today compared to the total capacity, whereas, I would say, at a roughly equivalent period last year, we were rather around 70 – 75%; and that over the last few years, we have rather fill rates that we manage to maintain around 80%. »
A problematic situation: a water flow with regulatory value, called “reserved flow” and fixed by State services, is permanently maintained in order to preserve ecological continuity and in particular aquatic life. But it could also have impacts on water supply, such as agriculture, explains the VNF representative: “ This is worrying, of course, it simply shows that it has actually rained a lot less this year and that it is very hot, so there is natural evaporation which is causing these water reserves to decrease. If these canals are dried up or if their supply is greatly reduced, the entire water supply of the territory can be impacted. And so, depending on the case, we lower our water levels in our structures so as to precisely allow the supply of drinking water, this is for example the case of what we did in Nancy this year. »
In some cases, there is simply nothing to do and the waterways are no longer there, especially in Burgundy: ” There are areas where the water levels are naturally so low anyway that we had to stop navigation, this is the case for example on part of the Burgundy Canal between Tonnerre and Migennes. Unprecedented in several regions, this drought also favors the development of fires.
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