The groundwater situation in France “has deteriorated and is unsatisfactory”, with all of them below normal, after an exceptional drought last year and a long period without rain recently, according to the official report of the Bureau of Geological and Mining Research (BRGM) published on Monday, March 13. According to this document, some 80% of levels were “moderately low to very low” as of March 1.
For the next few months, the BRGM reports “great uncertainty”, said hydrogeologist Violaine Bault during a press conference. The evolution of the trends “will depend essentially on the rainfall”, adds the organization, which however estimates that “the reconstitution of stocks by spring remains difficult to envisage on the reactive aquifers [most sensitive to rain] showing levels very low “.
Recharge could resume in some areas in March but “the next rains will probably have little impact”, insofar as, starting in April, the resumption of vegetation will absorb most of the water.
The organization points out that the fall and winter rains, an essential recharge period, were “very insufficient to compensate for the deficits accumulated during the year 2022”. The month of February, which according to Météo-France was the fourth driest in France since 1959 with a record of thirty-two days without precipitation between January 21 and February 21, was particularly damaging, notes Violaine Bault.
