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2 min
What can be done to save water, when 62% of French water tables are insufficiently filled? Some dairies reuse the water they get rid of, for example when making powdered milk.
Every year, dairies process 4 billion liters of milk, which is 90% water. That of Saint-Malo (Ille-et-Vilaine) produces 20,000 tonnes of milk powder per year. The water vapor is recycled. Every day, 50,000 liters of water are reused in a boiler or to clean the dairy’s delivery trucks.
A decree in October
Hundreds of thousands of euros had to be spent on recycling tanks and pumps. The investments, however, allowed the factory to escape water restrictions during the drought. “If there is a lack of water in the Saint-Malo basin, everyone will obviously be called upon to contribute. (…) We are obliged to anticipate”, confides Xavier Macé, the director of the dairy. The government wants to allow dairies to go further, with a decree planned before mid-October, which wishes to extend the possibilities of using recycled water.
Among Our sources:
BRGM Geological and Mining Research Office
Hydrogeological situation as of September 1, 2023
Non-exhaustive list.