France Faces Possible Record Drought in 2006
Date: 06-Jan-06
Country: FRANCE
Author: Muriel Boselli
"This could be a very difficult year, and perhaps a record in terms of drought," Nelly Olin told a news conference.
She said that after the heatwave in 2003, a dry 2004/2005 winter and low rainfall in the 2005 autumn, the water table was now seriously low.
"Even if it rains heavily in the next two and a half months, the water table will not be fully replenished," she said.
"We don't feel very optimistic."
Olin said her warning was targeted at the general public but also at farmers who were in the process of deciding which spring crops to plant.
French farmers, and particularly those who grew irrigated maize in the southwest of the country, came under fire during last summer's drought for excessive water use.
Despite the irrigation, the country's maize harvest in 2005 was some 20 percent down on the year before due to the drought.
MORE RATIONING
While France was not as badly hit as Spain, the government introduced water rationing across the country last summer in a bid to save water. The restrictions ranged from bans on car washing and filling swimming pools to limits on crop irrigation.
The curbs are still in place in a handful of departments.
Olin said authorities had detected around 2,000 offences, with the vast majority receiving fines.
She warned that if water levels remained unchanged by the end of March even harsher curbs would be enforced this summer.
"They could involve water cuts in some areas," she said.
France has so far ruled out a repeat of the unpopular drought tax, imposed in 1976, to compensate farmers.
A meeting of the national drought committee would be held in early February to decide what measures can be taken, Olin said.
"Last year we managed to control the drought because we took precautionary measures but this year due to the severity of the situation we have been even more on alert," she added.
"If it rains in the next few months, that's for the best, but no-one will be able to say that we didn't do what had to be done," she said.