Drought forces French towns to rely on tanker trucks for drinking water

In response to a severe summer drought, silver-colored tanker trucks have been making bi-weekly trips since early August to bring drinking water to the 5,000-person town of Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines in the Vosges valley, sourcing the water from nearby Liepvre, which remains connected to a larger supply network. The drop in flow from the town’s usual mountain springs prompted the French government to report that more than 40,000 residents have already experienced water cutoffs this month, with 550,000 at heightened risk nationwide.

The temporary mobile pipeline is also serving over a dozen municipalities in the Jura Mountains of Doubs, and similar measures have been taken in other drought-hit areas such as Coucouron, where leaks compounded the shortage. France’s 2023 Water Plan, backed by €1.4 billion, aims to cut consumption by 10 % by 2030 and replace aging pipes, but only about 0.6 % of the network is renewed each year. Experts warn that recurring heatwaves could strain households, agriculture and industry, while broader European data show roughly one-third of the EU population faces water stress. The situation underscores the growing challenge of securing reliable water supplies amid climate-driven scarcity.