After the violent episode of drought in the summer of 2022, the government launched a “water plan” in March 2023 which notably provides for better use of “grey” water, i.e. lightly polluted domestic wastewater (water from showers, sinks, etc.). According to Les Echos, less than 1% of water is reused today in France. The government’s objective is to increase to 10% by 2030. To do this, the Ministries of Agriculture, Ecological Transition and Health must agree on the conditions for reusing wastewater. Three texts are under consideration.
According to Les Echos, the first text proposed by the government will be adopted very soon. It concerns the flexibility of irrigation schedules and distances to water green spaces and agricultural land with gray water.
A second text is scheduled for the end of 2023 and concerns domestic uses. According to the forthcoming opinion of the National Food Safety Agency (Anses), the French could use the water from the gutters in their toilet flushes, to water their plants or wash their floors. A third text is also in preparation, but health issues persist, recalls Les Echos.
The last text would regulate the conditions for the reuse of wastewater in the food industry. But, according to the Ministry of Health, the current ways of analyzing wastewater are not sufficient and do not make it possible to identify the pathogens that may be there. The ministry therefore requires that wastewater be sorted for reuse, particularly in the case of washing meat carcasses.
