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Water: Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Minister for Ecological Transition, visits BRGM

BRGM, and in particular its teams working to preserve water resources, welcomed Agnès Pannier-Runacher to Orléans on 7 July as part of a trip devoted to drought.

10 July 2025

Agnès Pannier-Runacher, the French Minister for Ecological Transition, visited BRGM in Orléans on 7 July 2025.

On 7 July 2025 in Orléans, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, the French Minister for Ecological Transition, Biodiversity, Forestry, the Sea and Fisheries, visited BRGM to discuss the groundwater situation.

Organised as part of a trip devoted to drought and the risk of water shortages, this visit was an opportunity for the Minister to meet the BRGM teams working on groundwater and its preservation. Knowledge and monitoring of this resource, in terms of both quantity and quality, is a major challenge for BRGM, particularly in the context of climate change.

A visit dedicated to preserving water resources

Discussions focused on BRGM's expertise and its research objectives and actions on the subject of groundwater. 120 engineers, researchers and technicians are working on this issue.

BRGM is in charge of running the piezometric network, which comprises 1,900 structures, of which 1,700 are managed directly by the institution. There was a presentation giving the groundwater situation as of 1 July and the forecasts until the end of summer, as well as a comparison with previous years.

With the support of the DREAL (the environmental, spatial planning and housing directorate), the discussion turned to the situation in the Centre-Val de Loire region, and participants were reminded of the collaboration recently launched between BRGM and France Télévisions to produce a new weekly programme, "La Météo de l'eau".

The visit was also an opportunity to present the latest developments to the MétéEAU Nappes website. MétéEAU Nappes is an effective decision-support tool for managing water resources in sensitive areas. It provides a range of services to help monitor the current and future state of groundwater throughout France.

Agnès Pannier-Runacher, the French Minister for Ecological Transition, visited BRGM in Orléans on 7 July 2025.

Agnès Pannier-Runacher, the French Minister for Ecological Transition, visited BRGM in Orléans on 7 July 2025. On this occasion, Catherine Lagneau, BRGM Chair and CEO, presented the institution's strategic research objectives and expertise.

Agnès Pannier-Runacher, the French Minister for Ecological Transition, visited BRGM in Orléans on 7 July 2025.

Agnès Pannier-Runacher, the French Minister for Ecological Transition, visited BRGM in Orléans on 7 July 2025. Ariane Blum, Director of Water Resources, presented BRGM's work on preserving water resources.

Agnès Pannier-Runacher, the French Minister for Ecological Transition, visited BRGM in Orléans on 7 July 2025.

Agnès Pannier-Runacher, the French Minister for Ecological Transition, visited BRGM in Orléans on 7 July 2025. During this visit dedicated to water, the groundwater situation on 1 July was presented.

Agnès Pannier-Runacher, the French Minister for Ecological Transition, visited BRGM in Orléans on 7 July 2025. BRGM's work on groundwater was the subject of several presentations.

Agnès Pannier-Runacher, the French Minister for Ecological Transition, visited BRGM in Orléans on 7 July 2025.

Agnès Pannier-Runacher, the French Minister for Ecological Transition, visited BRGM in Orléans on 7 July 2025. Research on depollution as part of the PRIME platform was highlighted.

Agnès Pannier-Runacher, the French Minister for Ecological Transition, visited BRGM in Orléans on 7 July 2025.

BRGM work on pollution also highlighted

Finally, BRGM presented to the Minister the experimental work being carried out with the PRIME multi-metric pilot platform to find solutions for treating certain pollutants (hydrocarbons, PFAS, etc.).

A number of eminent officials attended the visit: Sophie Brocas, Prefect of the Centre-Val de Loire Region and Prefect of the Loiret département; Stéphanie Rist, Member of Parliament for the Loiret; Florent Montillot, Deputy Mayor of Orléans; Jean-Luc Riglet, Vice-Chairman of the Loiret Departmental Council; Hervé Brûlé, Director of the Centre-Val de Loire DREAL; Bernadette DORET, Director of Intervention Policy at the Loire-Bretagne Water Agency.