checks to verify the use of water in the Territoire de Belfort

“Unfortunately, we see that not everyone is playing the game.” Stéphane Laucher is the head of the environment department at the Departmental Directorate of Territories (DDT) in the Territoire de Belfort. Accompanied by inspectors from the French Office for Biodiversity (OFB), he carries out checks on the use of water in the department. This Tuesday, they went to the Tacquard Farm, in Reppe, where vegetables and cereals are produced. The couple of operators made a request for exemption to be able to draw from a water reserve neighbor because they cannot irrigate their crops properly. The proper conduct of the control was a condition for obtaining the authorization.

First step: the details of their water consumption then the observation of the truck which allows them to transport water, at night, to water their plantations. Then we go to their three rainwater recovery tanks, the level of which is very low. A few moments later, it’s time to go to the nearby pond. On the way, Damien Tacquard runs his hand through the earth. “It’s dry”, he notes sadly. He then takes a look at these gourds: “Look, everything is dying of thirst there”.

A check of the land and the nearby pond

After observation, no doubt for Stéphane Laucher, the ground was not watered during the day : “You can see that the ground is dry. If it had been watered during the day, we would have seen it immediately”. Once in front of the pond, it is the OFB inspectors’ turn to ensure that operators have not dipped into it. “Compared to the level of the banks, we see that the water level has sunk by 50 to 60 centimeters, describes Arthur Costard, one of the two inspectors. This is the average observed on all the ponds in the department. This means that there has been no sampling in this pond.”

At the end of the check, everything seems to be in order and the two operators should be able to obtain authorization to tap into a new reserve. But for them, it is above all an anticipation for the next few years, according to Damien Tacquard: “For this year it’s already too late, the plants have suffered too much in the last two months. But it is for the future that we seek to reflect in order to find solutions.” Otherwise, they could find themselves forced to abandon the vegetable business to concentrate solely on cereals, which consume less water.