doom

[pinkfluff<P>Big Wet Drops and Lots of Them, Are a Sure Sign of Rain!<P>]

The water problem has escalated the website I checked a couple of weeks ago showed three departments in the critical red zone and today two thirds of france are draught stricken. it seems from the strange way they put things on the gov. website that NOTHING can be watered all the crops we have sown will shrivel and die unless we do illegal watering and try to keep them like our neighbours. all green and lush but when you are a alien you have to be careful imagine the asians in England doing something wrong we would all shout. well its the same for us

We went to the supermarket and everyone was buying loads of water is it going to get so bad that we dont have anything to drink.  run to supermarkets and buy water .Im off right now.....

[Lori]

It is really really bad here too.  I am watching my neighbors fruit trees turn brown and start to die ..  Our garden has long since been dead.  Have been drip irrigating our hedge in the middle of the night (once every 10 days or so - as little as possible), but gather that too will be illegal (if it isn't already - website doesn't show it being illegal yet, but could be any day).  The local newspaper (a couple of days back) said that, we in the Vaucluse will not end up without drinking water due to our close proximity to the Rhone river.  Not sure how true that is.  Read it in the Dauphine Vaucluse.

Probably a good idea to stock up on a good deal of bottled water just in case.

It is really awful.  I think the time has come to purchase a couple of those huge rain collection containers.  It looks like we're going to have to go through this every year now.

[SaligoBay]

I think the time has come to purchase a couple of those huge rain collection containers.

There ain't no huge rain, that's the problem!!

[Lori]

I know, but for winter collection - if we ever get any winter rain... This past winter was the dryest I have seen yet.. 

 

[Christine Animal]

"We went to the supermarket and everyone was buying loads of water is it going to get so bad that we dont have anything to drink."

Pinkfluff, that was just for their pastis.  The French are known "en cas de crise" to rush off and stock up with sugar and everything else, and you find certain supermarket shelves empty, perhaps it goes back to the souvenirs of the last war...

[pinkfluff<P>Big Wet Drops and Lots of Them, Are a Sure Sign of Rain!<P>]

http://www.charente.pref.gouv.fr/fichiers/aduqueyroix/arret%20departem%20limitant%20usage%20de%20l%20eau%2011aout.doc

Is the link for the restrictions in force in the charente
No watering allowed except vegetable garden which is allowed between 7pm and 9pm No washing of cars
These restrictions come into force today
Prior to today you were allowed to water your garden including grass and plants for certain hours during the day

(are you allowed to steal someones whole post like this)

I really do not know what we are allowed to water as there is so much conflicting advice and my french is not upto working out the small print allthogh this post does sound more promising

babel fish translation worries me a bit with

" Whoever will have contravened the measurements prescribed by this decree will be punished sorrow of fine"

[andyh4]

You're lucky; in the Ardèche it is from 8pm to 2am - but only 2 days per week! and we are still an orange region.

[Iceni]

Taking our water from a high well, it and cistern has already had to be filled by the Pomps and I have to say tastes foul. We do have a HUGE stock of drinking water in bottles as once you run out for 24 hours you get a wee bit worried. Our well is a wee bit dry - understatement of year.

We have a huge water butt by the back door. All not very dirty or greasy water goes in that and the veggie garden gets a dose of that in the evenings but it is amazing that the stuff (well the stuff that was not decimated by the ruddy hail in our one stonking storm) is still growing. Spinach is spectacular, brocolli is coming on - elder leeks look great but the babies are babies and may not make it. Can't wait till I try the maize and all this with water that is normally used to wash veg and thrown down the sink or for just a quick rinse of hands before we do something.

Get buckets, get anything but start saving all the water you throw away that is not grotty, oily or nasty - in two days we have over half filled one of the largest butts you can buy.

I have one little golden rule, I have a very sorry looking pot of basil - never really took off due to the weather and I put the cleanest used water poss in the tray under that - amazing what comes for a little drink every day - don't forget that the wildlife is in dire trouble too.

Don't even get me started on those that simply ignore the rules, just because the letter never went through their letter box or because it is in a foreign language is not a very good excuse - or have I got that wrong again.

Giving in, going to make a cup of tea with bottled water.

I don't use water butts from the roof as the moss and dead lizards give off a stench that had to be smelled to be believed and the few plants I tried the stuff on - died.

Oh, yes, we are RED and stay that way till mid Sept at least.

[james Mallett]

Uh oh.  Didn't realise about the drought.  Am moving back to UK on the 28th so I've stopped watching french telly altogether, which explains why I was outside this morning washing the car and having a water fight with my two young sons around 11am.  Neighbours saw and didn't seemed to mind though, even waved and said ca va.  Maybe they were waiting for the impending visit from the gendarmerie to cart me away which would have made their life just that little bit more exciting today.  Hey ho, just as well we are going back to the UK before I break any more french laws.

[Iceni]

Our water pressure is dropping again and as we have been informed of the fine that 'could' well be inflicted on one local artisan who broke the rules it is perhaps best you are off soon.  Someone (those of us who live here full time) will again have the cost of the Pomps pumping water added to next years bills.

I know many think that this is just 'another of those things the French are going on about' but for some of us it is a really nasty reality. Spain and Portugal are in deep trouble - and it is not just us stinky ones who have fewer showers  - just think of the wildlife that is really starting to suffer - perhaps explained why we saw so many Griffon Vultures last week.

Lets hope that others are actually taking some notice of the country they are living or are on holiday in - even if they are leaving us to sort the mess out.

[Russethouse]

Be encouraged Di - apparently (according to the BBC Breakfast TV program) veg that are grown slowly taste better, so if they are alive, just not growing away, you may be pleasantly surprised !!

[Iceni]

Hi Gay

he problem is that we have NO WATER again. It takes up to 10 days for rain to reach the wells so I am trying to work out just how small amount of bottled water I can use to wash in, we have to drink and clean all our veg in this also and as you can imagine the shops are not exactly full of it.

I also have a cold so if I sound like I am a wee bit peed off - well I am. Couscous for lunch - well at least it uses the water and I can add fresh veg to make something that tastes nice and will not use too much.

Watered treasured pots with stinky water that comes from our 'slightly grey' butt  (they came from the UK 2 years ago - the terrace will be finished soon so they can go on there so it will be worth it).

It just pees me off when I hear folk saying - well my well/supply is OK so it cannot affect me - what caused this happened quite some way off and yet I can't even now process the food we are growing for the winter.

Rant over - time for tea and another sniffle .

[bizzer]

Hi Guys

I am currently saving and have been saving for months water like mad in the huge green butt (no not my backside) I brought from England I save all my washing up water and the water used whilst "waiting for the hot to come through" I was asked by a French friend why i was doing it when I explained it is for the plants he said it was "toxique". I think now he has realised why I was and am doing it I just hope other people do the same it is suprising how much can be saved....

Cheers

Barry

www..lelavalette.com

[Iceni]

Hi Barry

It is so strange that folk do not realise that chemical companies use oil and 'surficants' (for that read stuff like washing up liquid) to get their chemicals to stick to the leaves of the plants when they spray them. I also read that when you put dirty water (say washing water with a bit of grease in it) round plants the grease breaks down and the plants can actually use the compounds BUT you should not do it to often to the same plant and not to plants in pots again and again as they need time for the compounds to break down.

I never did like housework - got the golden excuse now BUT I did do my washing yesterday so at least it starts clean.

[bizzer]

Hi Iceni

yep true but he liquid i use is "green" and not "mild green fairy" so it should be okay for the roses and flowers etc.. I would certainly think twice about the use of it on my vegetables hmmm soapy beans might give those a miss... but then again bit of a talking point if I said after dinner the veggies had been grown using my bath water!! (shower really)

cheers

Barry

[chocccie]

does anybody have a link showing red areas etc for the whole of france?

Cheers

[Iceni]

If you want to find out about the local area the DDE or Maire or any other public office will have details.

In the current situation I would assume that it is almost all red and when it rains - and I mean rains and rains and rains it will take up to 10 days for the water to get to where it is needed, the wells and water table.

If we have even a normal winter for rain, next year will be sheer hell.

Have not heard if the mains are back on in our area yet - the only thing I make everyone do is wash their hands in water with disinfectant in it - lack of washing hands is one of the largest causes of infection - as is using a 'tea towel' to dry your dishes, even in normal times when the water does run (strange bit of info I found out whilst seeing what the best thing for us to do is).

Well as I have electricity I suppose I should look interested and give the place a quick vacuum - excuses only last so long.

Rain promised for tomorrow - but I have heard that one before - the last rain was huge lumps of ice and did more damage than good - but it was fun to watch.

[Missy]

[quote]"We went to the supermarket and everyone was buying loads of water is it going to get so bad that we dont have anything to drink." Pinkfluff, that was just for their pastis. The French are know...[/quote]

>>The French are known "en cas de crise" to rush off and stock up with sugar and everything else....<<

Then it's been a very long time that you have not lived in the UK because I have seen on many occasions, many UK housewives stripping bear the shelves of many a UK shops/supermarkets when a crisis of some kind or other looms!

[Christine Animal]

Oh oui ma chère Missy, it has been a very long time.... tellement, tellement longtemps.... 

Then could it be the English housewives who are emptying all our shelves ? !

 

[pinkfluff<P>Big Wet Drops and Lots of Them, Are a Sure Sign of Rain!<P>]

www.ecologie.gouv.fr/img/rub-filet-haut.gif

Is the website chocccie

I drove to the airport yesterday and the smell of death was everywere Iv had an odd dead mouse that has smelt bad but this was outside I dont know what  it was (about six times we smelt it) but it smelt awful and you could smell it for about a quarter of a kilometre

[Lori]

Pinkfluff - funny you should mention the dead smell.  I was swimming yesterday 4 pm and kept smelling an awful smell - like a dead animal baking in the heat.  Our home is surrounded by a farm - fields of land.  I suppose there must be something out there dead.  I couldn't see anything from our property and it was too hot to go looking.  Awful awful smell.   ughh

Yes, rain is in the forecast.  But, it has been so many times and never actually arrived.   Let's do our rain danse or say our prayer.... Rain rain rain rain rain

[andyh4]

Beware of what you wish for.  The ground is now so baked hard that any heavy rain will just run off and the next thing we shall complain about is flooding.

 

What we need is a couple of weeks of soft Irish drizzle before we get a good downpour.

[Roli]

They say "When in France etc.

We have a ban here and I watch my neighbours hosing and sprinkling like the ban didn't exist. One of them asked me to do the watering for them whilst they went on holiday, I did but was terrified and thought it just my luck to get caught. Although I have another neighbour who draws the water off his septic tank to water his trees and lawn, Yuk!!                        I agree with Andy in no time at all my garden will have become an unusable bog until next summer. 

[Iceni]

In this land of empty taps (well they do work now) we had a storm forecast last night (yeah - sure - black sky, thunder, quick flash and no rain - so what is new). Now what is different was that our neighbours seem to make some attempt at obeying the rules but across our very small valley we watched in amazement as a farmer collected branches, dry grass etc, stuck them in the hedge and set fire to them. The ground is yellow with dried grass, he was far enough away from his barns to be out of water range (if he has any of course) and yet he was determined to clear it before the promised rain came and put it out for him. Bright red flames and nice loads of smoke.

No rain came so he put it out himself with the tractor. The man MUST be a looney. The wind was in our direction and one spark into our farmers field of maize would have made for some interesting if not damn well dangerous moments.

Our veggy garden is really quite green, we do not water, well you cannot when you don't have any. We think it is because the fosse runoff is below the beds and I even had to cut a load of melons as the ground was damp beneath them and they were starting to look like they would be better up than left - they have almost ripened overnight - melon fest time - yummy.

Once it starts raining the springs all over the field will spurt into action. It is quite a task finding plants that don't mind being baked in the summer and drowned in the winter - the only spot that seems clear of that problem is the veggy patch - good old fosse.

Next high spot - the sweetcorn is ready - butter and sugar variety from the US. I just want this promised rain to swell them a bit - unless looney burns them down first.

[Teamedup]

It's a wonder someone didn't call the Pompiers out about the fire. Seeing smoke in the distance in an area with a severe drought should surely have got someone dialling them.

We have had rain and frankly everything is pretty green around here now, but the pompiers were out and about putting out some of the vegetation fires that happened during the heatwave we had any sign of smoke and they were there.