City of Pouilly-sur-Loire
DROUGHT – It is “possible to cross the Loire on foot” at the beginning of August, at least in some places. While restrictions on the use of water are imposed on a large part of the territory, the level of rivers, canals and rivers has reached lowest levels in France, forcing the Voies navigables de France (VNF) in particular to close certain routes to navigation. A drought described as “exceptional and historic” by the Prime Minister, Elisabeth BorneAugust 5.
We can now cross the Loire at the author of Orléans on foot the water level reaches the maximum below the people… https://t.co/Gt2GxEHZhq
— Clément (@Clement87270)
“We have never seen that so early in the year”
Striking photos and aerial images circulate on certain parts of the Loire such as under the suspension bridge of Ancenis or around the Island of Chalonnes in Maine-et-Loire, areas accustomed to lunar landscapes of a dry river in summers without rain. However, the current levels were most often not observable before mid-August, reflecting the extent of the drought currently experienced in France.
catastrophic image of drought, with a Loire that is no more than a small stream Soon nuclear power stations… https://t.co/UMhz80t5WE
— Ecrins???????? ????????????????????♀️ (@Ecrins6)
Good as the photo freaked out a lot of people, a precision: at this place the Loire is always very far away… https://t.co/v82Rba7V3V
— Albuminous Aorta (@Elsa_Bandini)
“We have never seen that so early in the year”explained the local fishermen in particular to the regional daily West France, calling the situation ” never seen since the 1976 drought”. “I am 60 years old and I had never seen this”abounded a resident of the region during a report by TF1. And the situation could even get worse with a fourth heat wave expected until Saturday August 13 and the (expected) arrival of precipitation in the country, raising fears of a very strong impact on the animals living in and thanks to the river.
This even if two dams, those of Villerest and Naussac, make it possible to regulate the level of the river, well upstream or at the level of its tributary of the Allier. But they were not filled enough before the summer to maintain a normal flow for the season, lack of sufficiently sustained rain this winter and the growing consumption of human activities. Meeting on July 26, the management committee for these reservoirs had decided to set, “a low-flow support target (periodic water drop, editor’s note) of the Loire measured in Gien of 46 m3 per second, against 60 m3 in a normal year”.
In Tours the flow of the #Loire is close to 50 m³/s on August 7, 2022. According to Hydroportail, over 27 years of measurement the… https://t.co/vkIgH8lGW7
— Gaetan Heymes (@GaetanHeymes)
On Monday August 1, the flow of the Loire measured at the height of the Jacques-Gabriel bridge, in Blois, was 52.7 m3/s and is declining due to a lack of precipitation, approaching the record levels of 2019, as at the level of the city of Tours.
See also on The HuffPost: What alternatives to deal with the shortage of drinking water?