Gueugnon: Water reserves in crisis and new restrictions on its use

In Gueugnon, the overcast sky, where gray clouds are breaking through, is scrutinized, awaiting rain. Jean-Claude Ménager, deputy in charge of water policy, points to the Arroux dam, worried by the low water level in the river. "We were on heightened alert for a very long time, then last Thursday, a prefectural decree classified us as a crisis zone," he despairs. Until September 15, restrictions must be respected: vegetable patches and gardens can be watered between 8 p.m. and 9 a.m., and for potted plants and lawns, only stored rainwater can be used. " We are all vigilant about the use of this resource, the town hall communicates regularly on this subject and the residents have accepted this state of affairs," explains the mayor of Gueugnon, Dominique Lotte. The municipality, for its part, uses recovered water from the treatment plant to maintain its flower beds.

Jean-Claude Ménager, who believes in collective intelligence to overcome this period of crisis, is encouraging: "This sum of small gestures and collective efforts will allow us to manage this resource more fairly." But the critical state of the reserves is not new, recall the deputy mayor and his mayor in unison. They both remember the summer of 2003, when Dominique Lotte almost made the decision to cut off the water, "by eight days," he specifies. The same refrain in 2019, 2022 and 2023 where the water resources crisis has repeated itself. " This wild river has always been capricious, but this is getting worse with global warming. The situation is unfortunately becoming recurrent," notes the mayor. To diversify supply sources, a drilling project for the installation of a well began last June. For the moment, this is just a drop in the ocean: we will have to wait a year before knowing the results.

In the meantime, the river is the subject of multiple discussions between the town hall and the Aperam factory, a major water consumer and provider of jobs in the area. For more than five years, a consulting firm has been working on the idea of ​​supplying the site with wastewater treated at the Sauze treatment plant. A meeting will be held in September to discuss the possible construction of this facility. Looking toward the gray clouds and the falling rain, Jean-Claude Ménager hopes: "We'll see if the sky will help us."