Drought “continues” in the Haute-Savoie department, now mostly under alert, the province said on Wednesday. This particularly pointed to reduced flow of rivers and lack of soil moisture.
KEYSTONE/AP/Armando FRANCA
After the first measures of restrictions and vigilance in mid-June in the three departments, “the situation in the department is gradually deteriorating” and the drought “has now spread to almost all of Haute-Savoie”, underlines the province in a press release.
“As of today, according to weather forecasts, the department is cautious, except for Orve Amont, the least affected department”, which includes Chamonix and Saint-Gervais in particular, add the services of the state.
No water during the day
A drought warning corresponds to a 2 out of 4 level, which means that you are prohibited from watering green spaces, vegetable gardens, golf courses and stadiums during the day, or from filling your swimming pool or washing your vehicle.
Industry and commercial activities should reduce their water use by one-fourth.
Rivers are drying up
Despite “timely and inconsistent surges associated with storms,” the province explained that declines in river flows have increased since early June in most areas.
Additionally, “soil moisture also decreases rapidly and shows a deficit of about 20% over normal”.
At the same time, the supply of rivers through snowmelt continues, but there is a “limited presence in the middle mountains”. Ground water level shows a downward trend in some sectors.
“The temperature and lack of rainfall in the coming days will worsen the situation across the sector,” he concludes.
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