In recent weeks, farmers in the tiny commune of Sainte-Soline in Deux-Sèvres have been facing intense opposition to their plans to build a large irrigation reservoir, with a capacity of 700,000m3, on 10 hectares of land.
The protests have led to major violent incidents between the police and protesters, with dozens injured on both sides.
The plans for a reservoir at Sainte-Soline form part of a wider project approved by the government in 2018 for the construction of dozens of reservoirs in the departments of Deux-Sèvres, Vienne and the Vendée, as a defence against summer droughts.
In Deux-Sèvres, where 16 reservoirs are proposed, the total cost is estimated at €76 million, 70% of which will be funded by the State, with the remainder by the 450 farmers of a cooperative association, who will be the beneficiaries.
In return, the farmers have promised to adopt more ecologically friendly farming methods, but opponents consider that they do not go far enough.
Last summer France saw the hottest average temperatures and lowest rainfall on record. France received 25% less rainfall than the long-term average, triggering tight water restrictions. Farmers all over France say that crops are under threat and are therefore seeking to upgrade irrigation systems and store water.
Construction of the first reservoir in Sainte-Soline began last October but is not yet complete. The reservoir in the neighbouring commune of Mauzé-sur-le-Mignon is already finished and in service.
Opponents claim that the 'méga-bassines' are damaging to the environment, and that water resources should not be monopolised by what they call 'industrial agriculture'.
The ecologically leaning small farmers association, the Confédération paysanne, has stated that: "Irrigation is largely subsidised by a low agricultural water price and by public subsidies for irrigation works and equipment. This financing thus leads to the privatisation of water for the benefit of a minority of beneficiaries."
Contrary to popular belief the reservoirs are not replenished by rainwater, but by pumping water from underground water tables during winter, so that it reduces the need for restrictions on irrigation during the dry summer period. The reservoirs are covered in thick black plastic to make them impermeable.
Protesters claim the reservoirs are a reinforcement of major high-yielding irrigated crop farming that is water and pesticide intensive, without regard to public health or climate change. Many of the crops are destined to feed livestock.
They consider that withdrawing of water during the winter merely disguises the over exploitation of water supplies and that the reservoirs delay the conversion to more sustainable agricultural practices. They also consider that the evaporation of water in the reservoirs is significant and therefore wasteful.
Nevertheless, as a parliamentary report in November 2022 pointed out, irrigation of agricultural land accounts for only about 10% of water withdrawals. At the same time, agriculture accounts for two thirds of total water consumption because the water taken by plants is not returned locally.
Only around 20% of farms are equipped with an irrigation system, mainly in the south, although opponents argue that reservoirs merely serve to increase the inequality between irrigated and non-irrigated farms.
The parliamentary report also stressed that "technical progress in irrigation since the early 1990s has led to a reduction of more than a third in water consumption for agricultural irrigation in 30 years, at constant production, by moving from sprinkling to micro-sprinkling and then to drip irrigation.”
According to a Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières (BRGM) assessment of the Deux-Sèvres construction project published in July 2022, replacement reserves have "a negligible impact" on groundwater and river flow. The reports states that the project would allow "an overall improvement in the level of the water table in spring and summer" and an increase in the flow of rivers (+5% to +6%). Nevertheless, the BRGM later admitted that they did not factor into the study the level of drought that has been seen in recent years.
The Chambre d'agriculture in Deux-Sèvres have also responded to the opponents' arguments by publishing figures which claim a 60% drop in the volume of water withdrawn in the summer in 20 years (2005-2025) and a reduction in the area under irrigated maize, replaced by winter cereals watered in the spring and by crops that require less water.
All of which does rather beg the question, if that is the case, then is the scale of the plans really justified?
Although press reports have not surprisingly focused on the violent protests at Sainte-Soline, there are legal actions taking place against many of the other reservoirs that are proposed, or under construction, with several that have been successful.
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