Drinking water resource in Toulouse: so far so good…
Despite the heat wave and the drought, the Toulouse conurbation is not threatened by the lack of drinking water from the tap, nor by pesticides. And our well-monitored and maintained underground network leaks little.
No need to draw it for you. The scorching summer was very tense on the water front in the Toulouse conurbation. But despite the drought and a historically low water level in the Garonne, our drinking water supply was not really threatened. We can still count on our “water tower”, the Pyrenees chain, whose lakes still have sufficient reserves to make up for the rain deficits. “With a very low flow of the Garonne, which was 37.6 m3/s on September 23, we still have a lot of margin, explains Robert Médina, the vice-president of Toulouse Métropole in charge of water and sanitation. Because our average consumption, that is to say the withdrawals less the restitutions to the Garonne is only 0.45 m3/s”. Still, don’t waste it.
15% of water lost in the network due to leaks
At a time when it is necessary to save money and above all not to lose a drop, the underground pipes that carry drinking water to our taps are closely scrutinized. “There are 3,345 km of drinking water network and 2,400 km of wastewater that are constantly monitored by our COMET hypervision centers for drinking water and ATLAS 360 for the water used, specifies Robert Médina. Our fight against network leaks even allows us to have results above the French average, he welcomes. The overall efficiency of our distribution system is 85.1% for metropolitan France and 88% for the city of Toulouse”. That is 15% of water lost over the entire network. On a daily basis, 1,600 sensors track leaks by locating them to the nearest metre. And the deployment of remotely read meters (180,000 in 4 years) makes it possible to notify users of leaks on their private network and ultimately control their consumption. “We have also set up a differentiated management of the pressure for the reduction of the night, continues Robert Médina. With greater responsiveness to repairing leaks”. It must be said that the budget is substantial. Toulouse Métropole has set aside a financial envelope for the renewal of pipes of the order of 24 million euros, which should make it possible to renovate around 45 km of pipes each year.
Conflicting uses
As for the restrictions imposed by the prefecture, even if consumption in mainland France does not necessarily justify them, they make citizens aware of the need for greater sobriety at a time when conflicts over water use are on the rise. The question will also be at the center of the debates organized today at the Labor Exchange by the Eau Secours 31 association. important, recalls Robert Medina. This year of great drought, the metropolis particularly monitored its management of public spaces and that of green spaces. Finally, an important detail, while recent health studies have revealed that many French people drink water polluted with pesticides, the Pink City is still a good student.
“We are not concerned by the alert to the overruns of quality standards reported in many municipalities in France”, assures Robert Médina. It’s always better to say it.
Eau Secours 31 in debate today at the Labor Exchange
The Eau Secours31 association is organizing this Saturday, October 1, from 10 a.m., at the Bourse du Travail, a day of conferences and debates around the theme “Understanding the functioning and disturbances of the water cycle” with in particular a round table entitled ““Water and agriculture, models to rethink? and many speakers. More information on the website eausecours31.fr