Map of water table levels in France on 1 August 2020.
© BRGM
Groundwater drainage continued through July and water table levels have fallen everywhere. This is normal at this time of the year: any summer rains that manage to filter down through the soil are absorbed by vegetation and rarely reach the water table.
As in previous months, the situation varies from one part of the country to another. Last winter's abundant rainfall continues to recharge the water tables, which means that the situation in July remains satisfactory for a large part of France. However, the situation is less favourable in those sectors where the winter recharge was insufficient: the aquifers of the Alsace plain, the Saône and Rhône corridors and the eastern part of the Massif Central. Lastly, the situation has deteriorated with certain reactive aquifers, which are sensitive to the lack of rainfall: the chalk aquifers of Champagne, the Jurassic limestone of Lorraine and Berry, the Limousin bedrock and complex formations on the Côte d'Azur all have moderately low levels.
It should be noted that the levels in the Aquitaine basin are generally higher – even much higher – than those observed at the same time the previous year.
In August, the levels of inertial aquifers are expected to continue their downward trend. For reactive aquifers, trends and developments depended mainly on the recharge due to local rainfall and the demand for water.
