Map of France showing the status of aquifers on 1 March 2021.
© BRGM
In February 2021, groundwater levels were mostly rising. Recharge continued in the inertial aquifers of the central Paris Basin but slowed down in the other aquifers. Only the water tables of Roussillon, Provence and the Southern Alps remain stable.
The situation in February was satisfactory over a large part of the area: recharge was substantial and groundwater levels were higher than the monthly averages. The situation is less favourable, with moderately low to low levels, for the deep aquifers of the Rhône and Saône corridors, for the Sundgau aquifer and for the southern edge of the alluvial aquifer of the Alsace plain. The levels of these aquifers rose in February, but the rainfall in recent months has been insufficient to make up for the recharge deficits of previous years.
Trends in March will depend on rainfall and vegetation recovery. The provisional recharge status gives hope for satisfactory levels in all the aquifers at the end of winter unless rainfall remains low in the south. In particular, the recharging of the inertial aquifers of the Rhône-Saône corridor and those of southern Alsace, which are still at low levels, should be monitored.
