One morning in January, in the plain that runs between Dole and Pesmes where corn fields follow one another, an agent from the Regional Health Agency takes readings of the water quality in the Montmirey-le-Château sector . Last February, the sub-prefecture of Dole ordered the inhabitants of 14 villages in the community of communes of Nord-Jura not to drink the water from the Thervay catchment station, pumped into the Ognon. In his analysis, the Burgundy-Franche-Comté ARS agent discovers S-Metolachlor above the legal water quality thresholds, a herbicide used in corn cultivation. 4,800 people are then asked to drink bottled water instead.
Almost six months after the ARS alert, the prefecture lifted the ban on drinking water on June 17. It is again consumable, writes the prefect of the Jura, David Philot, to the president of the Water Syndicate of Montmirey-le-Château. But the water does not flow freely, the enthusiasm of the population is not there.
“It was the hard blow”
Brigitte is a restaurant and caterer in Montmirey-le-Château. Even though it is possible to drink tap water again on this hot July morning when I meet her, she refuses to use it. She fears losing her organic certification because of the S-Metolachlor still present in the water. Every week, she fills jerry cans to cook her vegetables and wash her dishes. “I thought I was working with healthy products, for the health of my customers and ours, and then it was a hard blow because we can no longer work properly”, explains Brigitte, her sorry face looking at her 50-litre jerrycan on the table. For her, in her sixties, one thing is certain: carrying jerrycans of water every week for six months has worn out her back.
Like her, many inhabitants of the municipalities previously affected by the bans on water consumption remain suspicious. In Montmirey-le-Château, the mayor of the town, Martin Daune, notes that many people refuse to drink the water. Since February, he and his assistant have set up a water distribution service for their constituents. With two cars, every Thursday, they buy 2,000 liters of water in supermarkets, then distribute one liter of water per day and per inhabitant. “I looked at the regulations and found that the mayor is responsible for the quality of the water distributed in the village.explains Martin Daune, I have children here, pregnant women, elderly people, we can’t leave things in this state, without doing anything.“Since February, the operation has cost the municipality around 3,000 euros.
– Valentin Machard
The alert threshold multiplied by thirty, the water becomes “consumable”
So why has the water become drinkable again six months after the ARS alert? Behind the scenes, in the offices of the Ministry of Energy Transition headed at the time by Elisabeth Borne, advisers are busy. Nearly 15 million French people are affected by water in which S-Metolachlor exceeds the quality threshold, i.e. 0.1 microgram per litre. At the same time, the ministry increases the alert threshold and passes it to 3 micrograms per liter, aligning itself with the standards of Germany. A quality limit multiplied by thirty. A new standard that makes the water in Montmirey-le-Château drinkable again. Was it to avoid banning 15 million French people from drinking tap water that the decision to increase the alert threshold was taken?
– Valentin Machard
During this time, the prefecture and the water union of Montmirey-le-Château sought a solution to return below the level of 0.1 micrograms per liter. The union has invested tens of thousands of euros – a fortune for the structure – in an activated carbon filter. This station is supposed to purify the water by eliminating the molecules of pesticides and herbicides. A usefulness finally questioned, after the alert threshold was multiplied by thirty. “It’s a lot of money for something bigger”recognizes a little pained the president of the Water Syndicate of Montmirey-le-Château, Bernard Perrinet.
S-Metolachlor and its degradants (ESA-metolachlor and NOA-metolachlor) remain in soils and waters for years. Natural areas that can be contaminated for up to ten years in places, by this herbicide, the effects of which are still unknown.