a project to replenish the Platier d’Oye with water, victim of the drought
Faced with the scars left by the drought, several bodies of water have been dug to collect rainwater.
The level has never been so low. In the Platier d’Oye national nature reserve, a major project began on Monday to replenish it with water, when it is dry after a particularly hot summer.
“We have piezometers, these are probes which are installed and which make it possible to automatically control the level of groundwater and the level of water bodies”, relates Alexandre Sibille, departmental nature guard in the Platier d’Oye nature reserve. at the microphone of BFM Lille.
“This year is quite unprecedented. I’ve been here for seventeen years and I’ve never seen such low water levels on the site,” he continues.
This situation jeopardizes the biodiversity and species present in the reserve, especially birds. To harm and preserve these wetlands, four hectares of water bodies will be dug on the site.
Optimize rainwater harvesting
“The migration begins timidly. What is needed is that in a few weeks, a few months at most, we have reached, all the same, a significant water level”, explains Pierre Thellier, project manager at Eden 52 National Nature Reserve.
“Digging a little deeper than the bodies of water that exist right now will normally allow us to get water a little faster once he starts crying,” continues – he.
The digging work was due to be completed on October 21, just in time for the arrival of the first wintering birds.
The department of Pas-de-Calais, like the whole of France, experienced an exceptional and historic drought this summer. Many restrictions have been imposed by the prefecture in order to preserve resources.
And if the department is currently plagued by storms, these should not be enough to fill new water tables.