groundwater tables are better than in 2023, but summer remains uncertain

The black spot remains the Languedoc and Roussillon water tables. They are lower than last year and even continued to fall in February on the Roussillon plain and the Corbières massif, due to lack of sufficient rain.

Despite some areas still under tension, the water tables in France are generally in a much better state than in 2023. As of March 1, 46% of the water tables were above monthly normals and 36% remained below, reports Thursday March 14 the Geological and Mining Research Bureau (BRGM). Or at a much better level than at the same time in 2023, when 80% of levels were below normal. However, for two months, the situation has barely changed, fueling fears of a return of drought during the summer, synonymous with water restrictions, adds the BRGM.

The figures do not yet take into account the recent Mediterranean episodes, including the Monica depression of the weekend of March 9-10, but the effects of these precipitations which run off a lot should be “largely limited”, according to BRGM. Earlier, between December and the end of February, France recorded an excess of rain of around 10% on average, according to Météo-France. Good news for certain aquifers, from Brittany to the west of the Massif Central and to the Pyrénées-Atlantiques on the one hand, and from Artois to the Alpine valleys on the other hand, which were able to recharge before the arrival of the spring, when most of the water falling from the sky will be absorbed by the vegetation.

The black spot remains the Languedoc and Roussillon water tables. They are lower there than in 2023 and even continued to fall in February on the Roussillon plain and the Corbières massif, due to lack of sufficient rain. The aquifers in southern Alsace, the Saône corridor, and the south of the Massif Central also remain at low, even very low, levels.

Caution for summer

What will happen during the summer of 2024? If there are reasons to be “fairly optimistic” for certain regions “due to a satisfactory start of charging”the BRGM nevertheless remains “quite careful” for the next few months. “In the event of insufficient precipitation in March and April, the state of the aquifers could deteriorate rapidly on the reactive aquifers [qui se rechargent et se vident plus vite] and slowly on the inertial layers”, where water needs more time to infiltrate, warns the body. The uncertainty is all the greater as Météo-France anticipates a trend towards higher temperatures for March, April and May, favorable to evaporation and drying of the soil.