Everybody is talking about drought in our corner of France, the Hautes Corbieres what is going on and what does it mean for farming, gardens, and what type of Summer can we expect.
It certainly is already sever, the drought of last Summer was mitigated by good, solid rainfalls in the previous Winter and Spring, this Winter has been very dry, and Spring is looking no better. The Pyrenees Orientale has seen water restrictions on domestic and agricultural usage for the last two months. Down of the plains the fruit trees, vines and poly tunnels wonder where their supplies are going to come, they have already been reduced by a third, from and the beach resorts figure out how to fill their swimming pools. . As I write this article L”Independent” is reporting a demonstration by the FNSEA, the largest farmers union, at the Vinca dam demanding that the cut in water allowances for farmers be lifted. The Pyrenean ski stations have had another appalling season, how they can keep going is frankly a masterclass in squeezing money out of the State. In the meanwhile local businesses frantically try and diversify onto other tourist activities.
River flows are down, as is the water table, dams are a third full. Even last Summer a series of riverside nuclear power stations had to reduce or stop generating powers due to low water levels and the environmental impact of pumping hot wtare into already low rivers. France, the country of the Alps; the Central Massif and the Pyrenees is having to fact up to the fact that it has mismanaged it’s seemly endless water supply. While Government ministers rattle on about cutting domestic per capita water use from 156 litres per day to 130 or so the giant elephant in the room; farming, which, with industry, consumes roughly 80% of France’s fresh water is tip toed around.
One of the key issues in the management of water at a national level is working out who is actually responsible, different aspects of water management is spread across 7 ministries. In theory, the CNE, le Consiel National l’Eau, created in the 1970s which is split into five colleges, only one concerned with agriculture, has a consultative only remit to advice on all aspects at a national level. Only certain agricultural interests are represented on the CNE, in effect the productivists orientated unions like the FNSDA but not ecological union, the Confederation paysanne.
At a local level over 16,000 different structures, communal; inter communal, departmental and regional manage the local water and waste infrastructure, increasing outsourced to the private sector which is dominated by two huge companies, Veolia Water, and Suez Environment, who between then run 75% of domestic water supplies and 50% of waste management. This confusing, and incoherent mish mass of organisations, coops, associations and state bodies bears the responsibility for the management of resources, their distribution, both domestic and commercial; and waste management.
Needless to say the development of any form of departmental; regional ar national approach is not unlike herding ants, thousands of civil service hours are spent producing nicely worded documents, that offend the least number of vested interests possible and do precisely nothing. France may not be afloat in sewage like the UK, but we have green seas, nitrogen spill offs, soil erosion, coastal erosion, marsh and lagoon depletion, and increasingly a lack of water for both domestic and agricultural use.
Marginal rural villages such as Masons have other problems as well. Despite the new village sewage farm, the actual village sewage infrastructure is ancient, as is the water infrastructure. Between paying off the debt on the sewage works and repairing the system the money raised from water rates just does not cover the costs. That is just for the village itself, outlying farms such as ours either have water pumped to them from village supply; or are not at all supplied by the village, such is our case. There is no provision for new farms which will have to be dealt with as each case arrives but it certainly limits the options available. It was a key party of the discussions we recently held on attracting new agricultural projects to our commune.
The long term forecasts for Occitania indicate that temperatures will be two to three decrees above the average for this July, August and September, with very low if negligible rainfall. It is certainly dominating the conversations between local producers in the markets. The wine makers are worried that unlike last year the underlying water table is way below it’s usual level, meaning the vines will be unable to access water in the height of Summer, for vegetable growers water restrictions could deny them critical access in peak growing times, animal raisers, already hit by low yields on pasture and high food prices are stressed about the availability of water for their beasts let alone for their fields. Grass fed animals could have to be slaughtered ahead of the optimal age in order to keep an organic certificate. Indeed the already high cost of organic hay, and the lack of self grown food stuff and poor pasture is threatening the future of some producers, with worse to come.
So what can we do?
Somethings are above us mere mortals, a radical conversion to small scale mixed organic agriculture with an emphasis on increasing the organic material in soil; replanting hedges and trees, rebuilding terracing to hold soil and water would be a start. Ending the vast cereal plains to feed contained animals another. But that might be a both ambitious to achieve on the next six months.
But that aside there are many things that individual home and land owners can do to reduce their water consumption, maximise water retention, reduce water loss and end up being a little fitter and a little healthier.
The first is to stop throwing away water, by reducing the quantity of soap products used, and switching to organic alternatives grey water can be converted to useful water for the garden.
Washing up water and show water can be used to water plants in the garden. Ease up on washing all together, a bath a day can be easily replaced with a show every two days. Plague will not set in if you are immaculately clean every second of the day. Indeed naturally oiled skin is both healthier and cheaper that first scrubbing off the boys natural oil to replace it with creams.
Compost and increase the vegetable mater in the garden soil; this increases it capacity to retain moisture, carbon and increases general fertility. Never leave soil bare, always cover soil with some biodegrade surface. This massively reduces moisture loss, keeps the soil cooler moister, and helps soil biodiversity. Think shade, plan on more trees, ideally fruit and nut ones.
As well as saving grey water rain water collecting can add to the available water in Spring and Autumn. The water collected from the roof top does not deplete the water table as it counts for only a small patty of the total rainfall in an area but can provide an invaluable source in Spring.
Not for everyone but we have bought the makings of a dry toilet, from a lovely local specialist, LecoPot now just need to find the courage ti rip out the conventional one, chip the woof and build the composting lot in the old fenced garden.
Indeed thing a lot about increasing your self sufficiency, growing your own, or collective gardening is not just about reducing your reliance on imported fruit and veg, thus reducing water stresses in Southern Europe and North Africa, it is also about eating seasonally, so also reducing the need for heated green houses in Northern Europe, and ridding the world of tasteless tomatoes in January.
Think about meat, and diary. I am not a vegetarian, and have absolutely no intention of turning into one in the near, or even distant, future. But the simple fact remains that in France two thirds of cereals grown, and they are the real thirsty chaps that suck up the stressed water supplies, are not for human but animal consumption. Meat consumption in France is now around 85 kilos per person per year, a slight drop from the high of 1998.. While individual consumption has dropped slightly overall population increase has mean that total French meat consumption has risen. Pork, beef and poultry with lamb running a poor fourth. The sources of the first three are now intensive contained industrial production that depends on transformed feed, which relies on cereal production. Reducing the quantity of meat consumed and raising the quality by buying organic means that while the total spent on meat per person does have to rise but the diet become healthier and more environmentally sustainable.
