France declares need to save water in the country
The Minister of Ecological Transition of France, Christophe Bechu, noted that the country intends to reduce the volume of annual water intake from underground sources by almost 4bn cubic metres in the next five years, Le Parisien reports
Mr. Bechu stressed that the most important task for France in this matter is to reduce the volume of water extracted on the territory of the country by more than 10 percent within five years. “This is about 4bn cubic metres per year against the current 33bn cubic metres,” he said.
The official added that France lags behind other countries in the issue of reuse of water after its purification. As a result, only 1 percent of water is used in this way. “In Italy, it is 10 times more, in Spain – 20 times more, and in Israel – 100 times more. Only 77 out of 33 thousand treatment plants in France have equipment for a full cycle of water filtration," he explained.
Mr. Bechu also recalled the information provided by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: by 2050, the water level in rivers may decrease by 10-40 percent. With this in view, the French politician believes it is necessary to switch to the economy mode, since nature leaves no other choice.
