Drought in Côte-d'Or: on the ground with agents from the French Biodiversity Office

The Côte-d’Or is dying of thirst. Around 80% of the municipalities in the department have crossed the crisis threshold, the highest alert level, due to the drought. A prefectural decree, which came into force on August 3, introduced numerous restrictions on the use of water. Agents of the Biodiversity Office (OFB), the environmental police, are responsible in particular for carrying out checks on businesses, communities and individuals. This Thursday, August 13, Olivier Meyer, deputy head of departmental service, and Gilles Marache, head of unit, are going on patrol in the streets of Beaune.

From the start of the tour, the two agents noticed that the path to a car wash center remained open. A motorist shines his black vehicle brightly. When the two OFB agents remind him that the department is empty, the driver shifts into reverse. “But it was open! There was no cone to block access. I can’t know,” he explains. Without convincing himself. “And if not, will there be a fine?” he adds, before rushing off, relieved.

Olivier Meyer and Gilles Marache will report an infraction, but against the owner of the premises, whom they already know. He displayed an extract from the decree on the token distributor, highlighting the existence of exemptions "in the event of public health imperatives" or "public health concerns". A message even lists the address of other washing centers in the neighboring department. “No financial aid, station in danger,” denounces the refractory owner, already the subject of legal proceedings opened the day before. This will be heard in a free hearing in the OFB premises.

“I saw the soil completely split by the drought around Dijon. But I had to return the leased car.”

Individuals risk a fine of up to 1,500 euros, and even 7,500 euros in the case of communities and legal entities. These fifth class fines are issued by the police court, which means that OFB agents cannot issue any fines at the time of the offense. This sometimes limits their power of deterrence. Several motorists washed their cars in front of OFB agents. “I waited 13 days to wash it, normally it’s twice a week,” argues a VTC driver to OFB agents. “I can’t wait any longer, it’s for my customers.”

The department's five golf courses were inspected this year or previous ones. They have an exemption for greens, even in times of crisis. Olivier Meyer and Gilles Marache also examine the flower beds in the town of Beaune to detect possible watering. This is completely prohibited, unless the water comes from “constituted reserves”, in particular from collected rain. The two men want to learn more, after coming across an agent equipped with a high-pressure cleaner in the market square. “Otherwise we would risk having pests, it would be annoying,” replied a technical services secretary, in reference to the exemption for health.

“There is no longer any watering of the flower beds,” explains Tristan Braconnier, green spaces production manager. "We have an 80 m3 underground tank, which collects rainwater. But there is only half left, because not a drop falls." The technician had to adapt the plant varieties, as the years grew ever hotter and drier, by introducing more sage, nepetas or euphorbias. But also mulch at the base of the plants, to conserve humidity. “For a decade, there has been no regularity in rainfall or seasons,” adds the official. The biodiversity police have nothing to say to Tristan Braconnier.

“There was a pipe there at this individual’s house, that raises questions,” slips Olivier Meyer, on the other hand, while driving in the streets of Pommard, three kilometers from Beaune. A little further on, the Town Hall Square is decorated with vibrant flower beds, which have clearly just been watered, since the water still beads on the petals. The two agents push the door of the town hall to ask for details. “There is still work to raise people's awareness,” sighs the deputy departmental head, when he notes that the prefectural decree has not yet been displayed on the information board, which is nevertheless obligatory. The crew will subsequently receive a call from the first deputy, who will tell them that municipal watering has been entrusted to a service provider. Which ? To be continued.

Five kilometers further on, in Meursault, on the other hand, "the flowers are a little boring" and the prefectural decree seems to be respected to the letter. “We are being discerning. We are not going to bother someone who has three pots of geraniums,” adds Olivier Meyer. The OFB has sixteen inspectors in Côte-d'Or, including three supervisors, with very broad skills and prerogatives. Police missions take up half of their time, both in the field and in their premises. Côte-d'Or agents carried out 141 checks this summer, including 7 non-compliant ones, which led to the opening of two administrative procedures and two legal proceedings.

The OFB had warned of the “historic and critical situation for small French rivers”, in its latest assessment as of August 1. The Côte-d'Or is one of the most fragile sectors. “We have 22 stations which are no longer flowing out of the 30 in the Onde network (National Low Water Observatory) in the department,” summarizes Gilles Marache. “We have never seen this since the creation of the dedicated index in 2012.” The current flow of the Avant-Dheune, one of the rivers which crosses the sector, does not exceed 5 liters/second, Gilles Marache estimates visually, while its average flow, over the year, is ten times higher. Ru des Clous is completely dry, and it now resembles a mountain path.

OFB agents are happy to engage in dialogue with residents, to remind them of the restrictions in force. But the presence of a polo shirt emblazoned with the word “police” sometimes creates a feeling of panic. A resident of Montagny-lès-Beaune took refuge behind a wall as they passed, while she was simply wiping a rag over a car.

A few streets away, an octogenarian and her daughter are raking a completely yellow and charred lawn. “There is nothing left. I have never experienced such drought. Not like this,” laments this resident. She heard about the restrictions while listening to the radio, but her daughter regrets that the town hall did not distribute a leaflet.

"I'm sure some people fill their hot tubs and pools overnight, hiding the hoses under the tarps."

It happens that some people take advantage of this to settle their scores. Every week, the department's OFB receives around ten denunciations, by e-mail or by telephone. These reports sometimes result in checks and fines: watering a lawn this summer, or filling a swimming pool last year.

The Beaune sector, known throughout the world for the quality of its wine plots, is therefore preparing to begin its harvest, ever earlier, in a tight water context. We can already see workers washing barrels with a jet of water, in the parking lot of a cooperative, and others busy harvesting, in crémant plots. OFB agents will meet agricultural unions on August 18 to remind them of the value of blue gold. “They say that it takes five liters of water to make one liter of wine,” observes Gilles Marache, referring to the arrival of numerous workers or the cleaning of the vats. “Grape maturity comes at the worst time.”