La sécheresse et le droit de l'eau

Drought and water law

Secrétariat d'Etat à l'environnement

Abstract

Water is the subject of numerous user conflicts (drinking water supplies, satisfaction of domestic needs, preservation of natural aquatic landscapes, and fish-breeding, irrigation, electricity production using water). In times of shortages these conflicts are seriously aggravated. We will firstly go through the principles of water law, both as regards the legal situation governing water use as well as the water policing powers of the authorities. Then we present the legislative and regulatory provisions which enable a drought to be managed in a very precise way. These provisions are moreover very few and their main aim is to give the authorities the powers to satisfy a usage they judge to be a priority: namely supplies of drinking water.