Water management in France
Water in the era of digital, energy and ecological transitions

French water consumption is 16 billion m³/year, divided equally between drinking water, watering, agricultural irrigation and industry (excluding energy).

France, a temperate country, has very substantial resources overall, yet two-thirds of the country is affected by water restrictions in summer . Annual precipitation amounts to 512 billion m³, 61% of which evaporates via the soil and plants, 23% feeds the 200 exploitable underground aquifers with a volume of 2,000 billion m³, and 16% reaches the 270,000 km of our rivers, which have a flow of 170 billion m³/year. France also has 3,000 lakes.

France's water policy is based on four major pieces...