Water: “Unless we change our habits, chronic shortages could arise” (Haut Conseil à la Santé Publique)

“Ecosystems will be severely affected by the impacts of climate change. Unless we change the way we use water, chronic shortages could arise across France. Regions in the south of France will be particularly affected. The issue of water must be made a political priority: we must organise its distribution, choose appropriate solutions, and take water into account in our public policies and societal choices,” say experts from the Haut Conseil à la Santé Publique (HCSP), Simon Ferrière, an engineer and deputy director of the Environment Department, and Nicolas Riedinger, director of that department, on 1 July 2026.

Water abstraction in France totals 31 billion m³, with the energy sector accounting for the lion’s share (45 per cent), particularly the nuclear power stations in the Rhône Valley. Irrigation accounts for 11 per cent of these withdrawals. Water abstraction is highest in winter (energy) and in summer (agricultural irrigation). As regards water consumption that is not directly returned to the natural environment (losses through evapotranspiration), five billion m³ are…