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While environmental activists are mobilizing against mega-water basins, a look back at the operation of these giant pools, designed to help farmers obtain water in the summer.
These are gigantic open-air pools that can retain up to 700,000 cubic meters of water in the middle of agricultural plots. Huge basins, mainly located in the west of France, which are at the heart of a water war between ecologists and farmers. “Being able to store water in a substitute reserve ensures a quantity of fodder“, defends Emmanuel Pin, farmer. For him, without these reservations, the farms could be put in danger.
Questions around the water cycle
To supply agriculture, basins pump water from groundwater in winter and store it to irrigate crops in summer. According to a public report, their impact would be negligible on the environment, but some researchers believe that they disrupt the water cycle. “Taking it when it will appear will have consequences for the environment that needs it“, advances Agathe Euzen, research director at the CNRS. The evaporation of water usually protected also raises questions in the 82 water reservoirs planned in the west of France.