Who hits “Rainwater + drinking? » on Google gets this answer: “No, it is strictly forbidden to consume rainwater. Indeed, rainwater can present chemical contamination, particularly after runoff on a contaminated surface. It may also present bacterial or parasitic contamination if it is stored in a tank (Ministry of Ecological Transition). » Deterrent…
There is no law prohibiting the consumption of rainwater. But the decree of August 21, 2008, which regulates its recovery (downstream of inaccessible roofs) and its use, only explicitly authorizes watering, exterior cleaning, filling the toilet flush, washing the floors. and laundry – provided you use a suitable water treatment device. Any food (drink, cooking) or sanitary use (shower, sink, dishes) is prohibited.
Water autonomy activists interpret the 2008 decree to their advantage, believing that the water they purify is no longer rainwater, and therefore falls outside its scope. “We are not outside the law by consuming the rainwater that we purify. We are in a regulatory hole. In fact, we fall under the public health code. However, in the family context, we are not subject to health checks”insists Pierre Guillaume, founder of the company Perperuna, which provides expertise and materials allowing water autonomy.
Slingshot Wind
On August 29, 2023, a decree added to the confusion. Dealing with both rainwater and the reuse of wastewater, it seems to prohibit watering the vegetable garden with water from the recuperator or the cistern, and even more so, all domestic uses. Faced with the excitement caused by the text, the ministries of health and ecological transition had to clarify in October that the 2008 decree remained in force, that other regulatory texts should come out at the beginning of 2024, that it was not necessary see no desire to scuttle the use of rainwater, in compliance with health rules.
Too late. A fierce wind has arisen. On the Change.org website, a petition (“Don’t touch our rainwater”) collected more than 16,600 signatures. A contentious appeal was filed before the Council of State on October 26 by the Union of French Rainwater Industrialists. Another is being prepared, under the leadership of Pierre Guillaume. Rainwater, flammable subject! Farmers’ megabasins have already proven this: “The water issue is becoming a political subject in France. Its rarefaction makes it an issue, and we are witnessing a slight hysterization of the debate”observes Bertrand Gonthiez, author of Collect and use rainwater (Eyrolles, 2009).
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