Lake Graoussettes near Sérignac-Péboudou, in Lot-et-Garonne, February 8, 2023 (AFP / Philippe LOPEZ)
On the borders of the Dordogne and Lot-et-Garonne, in the Dropt valley with its hillsides covered with orchards, the low filling of the water reservoirs this winter has farmers fearing the worst if the rain does not return. shortly.
Here as elsewhere according to Météo-France, it has not rained for almost a month and the threat of a new drought looms. The accumulation of precipitation has only reached 100 millimeters in the valley since last June, against 400 to 500 usually.
And no heavy precipitation is on the horizon.
Result: at Lac des Graoussettes, vegetation has invaded several tens of meters of dry banks. This 32 hectare reservoir used by around forty local farmers, where zander and pike are also teased, is only filled to a quarter of its capacity.
Further on, the 112-hectare Lescourroux dam, in Eymet (Dordogne), barely reaches 46% filling, despite the winter pumping of the Dropt river.
Faced with this water shortage, “historic since 2012”, the president of the Epidropt mixed union, which manages the supply of the hill reservoirs, does not hide his concern.
“If we were to reach only 50% filling according to the most pessimistic forecasts, there will inevitably be an irrigation problem this summer”, abounds Stéphane Faresin, producer of cereals and prunes from Agen.
A new drought synonymous with “catastrophe” for this territory where apples, plums, walnuts, hazelnuts, tomatoes, strawberries, cereals and other seeds are grown thanks to the pumping of these reserves created 30 years ago.
At Lac des Graoussettes, vegetation has invaded several tens of meters of dry banks (AFP / Philippe LOPEZ)
Without water in sufficient quantity, there is no market gardening, even less field crops. Local agri-food or seed companies will not place orders, “for fear of not receiving the goods”, points out Mr. Faresin.
– Spare wheel –
In order not to relive the “hellish summer” of 2022, where crops had to be irrigated “day and night” due to the scorching heat, some farmers took the lead.
Based in Roumagne (Lot-et-Garonne), Manuel Dezen has planted plant cover on his future corn plots, to promote water infiltration, and will test sorghum this year, which is less water-consuming. He also plans to drastically reduce his production of field tomatoes.
“We have to evolve because pumping is only a spare wheel”, says this fifty-year-old who has invested several tens of thousands of euros in irrigation reels – and a tomato harvester that it still has to amortize.
While the battles around access to water are increasing in agricultural regions, “we can say thank you to the + elders + who went to the front of the problems”, estimates the one who has two small private lakes on his farm, as well as its own pumping station on the banks of the Dourdenne river – a tributary of the Dropt – fed in particular by the Graoussettes lake.
In addition to irrigation, the reservoirs of the Dropt valley support the low water level of the river at 30%, all year round, to allow the proper functioning of aquatic environments and the dilution of wastewater from treatment plants. And avoid, as much as possible, conflicts of use.
“Today, it would be more complicated to obtain the authorizations and the financing to build such reservoirs”, affirms the operator.
Lake Graoussettes near Sérignac-Péboudou, in Lot-et-Garonne, February 8, 2023 (AFP / Philippe LOPEZ)
In Lot-et-Garonne, the winter of 2018-2019 was marked by the illegal construction of Lake Caussade, at the initiative of the Chamber of Agriculture led by the Rural Coordination. Administrative justice confirmed on appeal the illegality of the work without ordering the restoration of the site triggering the anger of environmental associations.
On Tuesday, in the neighboring Landes, the FNSEA and Young Farmers unions are calling for demonstrations in Mont-de-Marsan for the renewal of authorizations for irrigation withdrawals. Fearing a drop in their catchments, they defend “the management as a good father” of their water needs.
The Adour-Garonne Water Agency is sounding the alarm for this summer. “We are heading towards a more complicated year than 2022, where all the bodies of water and the water tables were filled” at this time, underlines Nicolas Ilbert, director of the Atlantic-Dordogne delegation.
According to him, if the reservoirs of the Dropt valley are not the only solution, they are now “essential” for him.
© 2023 AFP
Did you like this article ? Share it with your friends with the buttons below.
