Four villages, all located in the Pyrénées-Orientales, no longer have access to drinking water, causing concern and anger among residents, but especially farmers.
A procession of angry farmers blocks a national road in the Pyrénées-Orientales, Friday, April 14, to protest against the water restrictions which already affect the region. “You have a whole bunch of producers who are at risk of losing farms that have been around for decades and decades”, defends Pierre Hilary, president of the Young farmers of the Pyrénées-Orientales. These tensions around water are likely to worsen further. The Roussillon aquifers are at a very low level, and the risk of drought is very high.
New drilling expected by summer
Four municipalities in the Pyrénées-Orientales have already been deprived of drinking water since 7 a.m. Friday morning. More than 3,000 inhabitants are concerned, the town hall has distributed bottles to them, one pack per week and per person. The river is dry, and the drinking water well has reached too low a level to continue to be exploited. A temporary connection was made to an agricultural borehole, but only for two months, and with water that we cannot drink. The municipalities are now counting on a new drilling hoped for by the summer.
View comments
