Direct access to the sea, four swimming pools including a balneotherapy course for adults and an aquatic games park… Water is an asset at Les Sablons, a five-star campsite in Portiragnes, south-east of Béziers. He is one of the players in the department of Hérault, the leader in outdoor accommodation in France, has begun to change its model to save water.
Fed by two boreholes in a water table 130 meters underground, the Astien water table, the 25 hectare site has already reduced its water consumption by 20%. “And this, with an increase in activity, an additional swimming pool and 1,500 square meters cultivated in permaculture”, specifies its director. Anxious “to give meaning to a leisure activity in a context of resources under pressure”, Olivier Caron wishes to be as transparent as possible: “from 125,000 cubic meters in 2017, we have increased to 103,000 cubic meters in 2021”, he declares.
To reach 83,000 cubic meters consumed per year, the director of Les Sablons has planned an investment of 1 million euros over six years. Even if the objectives set by the Smeta (Syndicat mixte d’études et de travaux de l’Astien), which has a central role in the management of water in the territory, have not been achieved this year, this proactive management is beginning to infuse the world of outdoor accommodation.
“The sector is a few years ahead on the subject, believes Philippe Robert, regional representative of the Federation of outdoor hotels, because many campsites are located on the Astien groundwater, classified as a water distribution zone (ZRE) by interprefectural decree of 2010. Constrained by quotas for withdrawals, they are multiplying initiatives. “Pressure reducers in showers, economical flushing systems and drip irrigation systems are beginning to take hold in the majority of coastal establishments.
The campsites, the first water samplers in summer, will have to accelerate the movement. As part of the renewal of the withdrawal authorization from the DDTM (Departmental Directorate of Territories and the Sea), they have three years to carry out water saving operations: fitting customer meters at the most consuming points, i.e. swimming pools, green spaces and sanitary facilities, the obligation to search for leaks, in particular on basins, and work on green spaces, with the choice of Mediterranean species instead of lawns, and the management of irrigation.
“They benefit from support, because they are operators, not managers”, recalls Véronique Dubois, who mentions the delays and administrative obstacles in obtaining subsidies, mainly for small family businesses. Not to mention the blockages of the regional water agencies concerning the reuse of water. Pending authorization for an experiment for the reuse of gray water treated in the toilets in five or six campsites, the director of Smeta regrets the delay in France on the subject.
With a restriction on the use of water defined by the prefecture for each municipality, each coming week is a source of anxiety for a department ranked in the top 2 for French customers, and in the top 5 for all customers combined. An issue announced as a priority since 2022 by the departmental council. In its plan for sustainable and responsible tourism and leisure, it provides engineering support for sobriety initiatives. The Green Key label thus offers diagnostic assistance for campsites. “Anyway, in the relatively short term, with 10 million camping nights recorded in 2022, they will have no choice, summarizes Jean-François Pouget, deputy general manager of Hérault tourism. It is: die or live. In addition to education to encourage customers to be more sober, the department’s marketing strategy is changing completely. “We will position ourselves from the start of the school year on the off-season, when the water pressure is lower,” he adds.
Smaller actors are also not lacking in initiatives. In Sète, on the private La Ola beach, the water from the public showers is filtered and treated to be reused in the toilets. The system, installed at the start of the season by a Montpellier company, cost 6,000 euros. It will be amortized over two years. “I would have done it anyway, assures the owner, Claude Herzog, because the waste of water annoys me. Here, too, customers should appreciate the not-so-paltry gesture.