Groundwater: a “worrying” and “extremely degraded” situation in Corbières and the Roussillon plain

L’état des nappes est satisfaisant sur une grande partie du territoire mais préoccupant notamment dans les P.-O. Midi Libre – JEAN-MICHEL MART – Illustration

Le Bureau de recherches géologiques et minières (BRGM) a dévoilé ce mardi 13 février l'état des nappes phréatiques basé sur les données récoltées au 31 janvier. Globalement, c'est correct mais certains territoires souffrent toujours.

How are the water tables ? Overall pretty good even if they have tended to recharge more slowly in recent weeks. This is what emerges from the latest situation update published Tuesday February 13 by the Geological and Mining Research Bureau.

As of February 1, nationally, 46% of groundwater levels were above monthly normals, or 10% less than last month. “The significant recharge that occurred between the end of October and December had a notable effect on the water tables”, explains the BRGM.

💧 État des nappes d’eau souterraine au 1er février 2024

Que retenir ?
🔸 51% des niveaux sont en hausse (69% en octobre)
🔸 46% des niveaux sont au-dessus des normales mensuelles (56% le mois dernier)
🔸 L’intensité de la recharge diminue pic.twitter.com/xwE9iVsSfG

— BRGM (@BRGM_fr) February 13, 2024

The general situation has therefore improved considerably. It is more favorable than that observed last year at the same time, when 60% of levels were below normal. Only the aquifers of Languedoc, Roussillon and Corsica maintain lower levels in January 2024 than in January 2023.

The office points out the particularly low level of the water tables of the Corbières massif and the Roussillon plain. A situation described as “worrying” and “extremely degraded” due to the lack of rain for more than a year in these regions. “Certain points have observed levels in continuous decline since May 2022 and reached historically low levels”, underlines the public establishment.

What development ?

It remains to be seen how the situation will evolve between now and spring, knowing that the recharge period generally extends from September to the end of April, at the latest.

“From spring and during summer, the rise in temperatures, the resumption of vegetation, and therefore the increase in ;rsquo;evapotranspiration, limit the infiltration of rain towards the water tables, recalls the BRGM. Between May and October, barring exceptional rainfall events, the draining of the water tables usually continues and the levels continue to fall until the fall.”