Drought: wells, ponds, boreholes… are they subject to restrictions?

93 departments are now affected by draconian restrictions on the use of water. Drought is hitting all or part of the country, which is not surprising: the month of July 2022 is one of the driest that France has experienced since the creation of Météo France, the organization responsible for developing forecasts and collecting and analyzing meteorological data. The situation is all the more worrying as major forest fires have broken out in Gironde, Landes and Brittany.

Do these restrictions apply to owners of wells, ponds or boreholes?

Water from a well or a borehole cannot be used as everyone sees fit. It is subject to a certain number of rules, recalls TF1 on its site. These resources, let us remember, are not unlimited. Since 2009, any collection for domestic use must therefore be declared to the town hall and only 1,000 cubic meters can be used per year. In times of restrictions, as is the case today, the restrictions that apply to other water sources also apply to these facilities.

Moreover, it is also important to remember that it is forbidden to use this water for food. It is reserved for the proper supply of flushing toilets, watering or washing the floors, except in very specific cases. This is to avoid possible pollution of the urban network by contaminated water.