Against the backdrop of the largest freshwater reserve in Western Europe, Lake Serre-Ponçon in the Hautes-Alpes, Emmanuel Macron presented this Thursday the executive’s “water plan”, to face the risk of drought this summer and improve the management of this resource in the long term.
“The exceptional drought that we experienced last summer will not be exceptional compared to what we will experience in the future,” acknowledged the Head of State, citing in particular recent IPCC reports.
“Nobody tells us that the situation will improve,” he added.
• A “water sobriety plan” starting this summer
The first axis of the water plan presented: “prepare for next summer”, following the model of what was done this winter to save energy, explains Emmanuel Macron.
First, “a tool like EcoWatt will empower everyone,” he explains. Thus, “in each territory, depending on the available resources, the prefects will establish rules for the distribution of water so that everyone can know the actions to be taken and see the evolution of the situation.”
Then, the head of state also announces this Thursday that a “water sobriety plan” will be launched for each sector, as has already been done with energy, such as tourism, industry, leisure or agriculture.
Despite this “water emergency plan” scheduled for this summer, Emmanuel Macron acknowledges that “not all crises will be avoided”.
In fact, the president fears “situations of great tension next summer” in certain municipalities.
• 10% water savings in all sectors by 2030
“Beyond the urgency of this summer, it is above all a plan for sobriety and efficiency over time”, which Emmanuel Macron wants to implement.
“The goal for 2030 is 10% water savings in all sectors,” he says.
To do this, he cites several lines of work. First, the modernization of the water networks and the fight against leaks. “One liter out of every 5 is lost due to leaks in France, it is unacceptable,” lamented the head of state, who has announced an investment of 180 million euros per year to “absorb” these leaks.
Emmanuel Macron wants to move to 10% wastewater reuse in France by 2030. “For that, we have decided to launch 1000 projects in five years to recycle and reuse water” and “ultimately, we want to reuse 300 million cubic meters, or 3 Olympic swimming pools per municipality (…) or 3,500 bottles of water per Frenchman and per year”, declared the president.
• Reduce water consumption at nuclear power plants.
In particular, the president wants to target a particularly water-consuming sector. He announced an investment plan -not yet quantified- to adapt nuclear power plants, the third largest consumer of water in the country, to climate change.
Electricity production is responsible for 51% of water withdrawals in France and 12% of consumption, recalls the Head of State.
“We must adapt our nuclear power plants to climate change by undertaking a broad investment program to save water and allow us to operate much more in a closed loop,” explains Emmanuel Macron.
• “Share” the basins
The water plan presented by Emmanuel aims to “change the logic of water storage” in the country. “This starts with healthier soils that promote the recharge of groundwater,” argues the head of state.
On the thorny issue of artificial water storage for farmers, the president defended the usefulness of these works, of the type of Sainte-Soline (Deux-Sèvres) where very violent clashes took place on Saturday. These reservoirs pump water from groundwater during the winter so that farmers can irrigate their crops in the summer.
Emmanuel Macron assures that “it is not about privatizing water or letting some monopolize it.” “The rule is to share,” he insists.
Thus, it intends to better distribute future basins and condition them to “significant changes in practices”, starting with saving water and reducing the use of pesticides by farmers.
• Progressive water prices
“Water is a common good”, says Emmanuel Macron. That is why we need progressive water pricing in France”.
“This does not mean that the price of water is going to increase, it is also in the average today when we look at the price of water in France”, he specifies.
For this reason, he explains that the first cubic meters will be “billed at a reasonable price, close to the cost price.” “This is the water we all need,” he says.
“But beyond a certain level, the price per cubic meter will be higher for these comfort consumptions and to further encourage sobriety”, details the President of the Republic.
Source: BFM TV
