Policy brief Water withdrawals and consumptions in France Renewable water, which is essential not only for anthropogenic activities but also for the functioning of aquatic systems, has decreased by 14% in France over the last fifteen years. This trend might worsen in the future due to climate change, particularly during summer. What do we currently know about water demand? What is its spatial dynamics? Published on : 18/04/2024 Temps de lecture 2 minutes The concepts of both water withdrawals and consumptions are essential to implement public policy. Consumption, which is the portion of withdrawn water not directly discharged into the environment, reduces the quantity of water available for downstream uses. On the other hand, withdrawals alter water quality (temperature and pollutants) and quantity (availability), and can significantly affect aquatic systems. In this note, we identified the withdrawn volumes of water by end uses in 2020. Our description is more detailed than the conventional statistics. In total, 30 billion cubic metres (m3) were withdrawn in mainland France and Corsica; 47% of this volume was used by the energy sector, notably in the Rhône-Méditerranée catchment area due to the presence of nuclear power plants with open-cycle cooling. Moving from withdrawals to consumptions requires assumptions on "consumption factors", which we re-examined. In 2020, total consumptions are estimated at 4.4 billion m3. Crop irrigation, concentrated in the south and west of France, accounted for almost two-thirds and mainly concerns human and animal feeding. Artificial water storage – used for hydroelectricity, agricultural tanks, ornamental lakes, etc. - are not currently considered as water consumers in official sources, but we question this assumption. We estimate that approximately one billion m3 is evaporated every year in these storages, raising the total annual consumption of water to 5.4 billion m3. While the spatial aspect of water is important, a more in-depth study of seasonal dynamics is also needed, as not only water availability, but also water demand can vary strongly throughout one calendar year. Partager la page Partager sur Facebook - nouvelle fenêtre Partager sur Twitter - nouvelle fenêtre Partager sur Linked In - nouvelle fenêtre Partager par email - nouvelle fenêtre Copier le lien dans le presse-papier Téléchargement Water withdrawals and consumptions in France Read the full document in french PDF - 2 391.2 Ko Download appendix PDF - 516.2 Ko Topics Changement climatique Alimentation/agriculture Ressources naturelles/biodiversité Published by France Stratégie Authors Hélène Arambourou Simon Ferrière Miquel Oliu-Barton Reference Reference Fermer Reference Autres options d'export Version FR More L’industrie est-elle plus carbonée en France qu’en Allemagne ? L'intensité carbone est le rapport entre le volume d’émissions directes de gaz à effet de serre − c’est-à-dire celles qui résulten... Changement climatique Industrie La Note d’analyse 12 November 2024 RSE | Empreinte biodiversité des entreprises Un million d’espèces animales et végétales sont menacées d’extinction. C’est un déclin de la biodiversité sans précédent dans l’hi... Ressources naturelles/biodiversité Entreprises RSE Infographie/datavisualisation 09 April 2020 Report – Public Subsidies Harmful to Biodiversity Public debate has sometimes tended to equate preservation of biodiversity with the emblematic fate of certain endangered species. ... Natural resources & biodiversity Report 14 October 2014
L’industrie est-elle plus carbonée en France qu’en Allemagne ? L'intensité carbone est le rapport entre le volume d’émissions directes de gaz à effet de serre − c’est-à-dire celles qui résulten... Changement climatique Industrie La Note d’analyse 12 November 2024
RSE | Empreinte biodiversité des entreprises Un million d’espèces animales et végétales sont menacées d’extinction. C’est un déclin de la biodiversité sans précédent dans l’hi... Ressources naturelles/biodiversité Entreprises RSE Infographie/datavisualisation 09 April 2020
Report – Public Subsidies Harmful to Biodiversity Public debate has sometimes tended to equate preservation of biodiversity with the emblematic fate of certain endangered species. ... Natural resources & biodiversity Report 14 October 2014