Drought - la Secheresse - WildFires 2022

I so agree! When we bought this place the black water went straight to a fosse septique, which worked beautifully and the grey water was basically running out to a grease trap and then just released alongside our neighbour’s field. Unfortunately when we renovated we were told it all had to go and the builders put in a fosse “toutes eaux” which has always seemed to us a retrograde step. If we ever redo the kitchen it’s one of the things I want to query and really push for having grey water storage. Things one wishes one had known when first coming to France. :roll_eyes:

Lots of us, and cats, don’t have triggers to drink in hot weather.

I put extra water out for the cats as soon as the really hot weather became sustained. But they were ignoring it except for one of them, whilst clearly really suffering from the heat.

Training cats is pretty near impossible. They are better at training us. The way I’ve got them to drink is by locating extra bowls for water next to their food bowls. Then especially for their morning feed when they are hungry (despite a night doubtless spent on the rampage hunting and killing), I first top up the water bowls in their food area. They watch eagerly for food delivery to begin - they are being delivered there, what they are supposed to eat and they know it.

The key is that instead of topping up their water after feeding them, as I used to do, I now deliver the water first to their food area then leave a gap. They now start drinking the water as soon as it arrives (all of them). When I’ve seen that I bring the food. Later I top up the water again. But I keep that topup very separate when they’re not looking.

Normally they get mostly dry food due to budget. In sustained hot weather I break out the wet food I keep for when a cat is not feeling well, or for when it’s very cold or very hot, as it’s easier for them to eat. If I had a dog I’d buy them one of those large cooling gel mats as they get good feedback. But my lot would scratch it with their claws and destroy it.

At least they drink their water when it’s put out now, and then they now also drink through the day.

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You are allowed to top-up pools so it can be used.

In your area quite possibly… there are areas where water is really scarce… and virtually everything is at a standstill.

I was wondering if folk have come up with a routine of covering the pool during the excessive heat (when folk shouldn’t be out anyway) and then uncovering for use in the cooler evening air…

I’m not aware any restrictions that are forcing pools to be shutdown because left unfiltered the water becomes a breading ground for algae etc.

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As of yesterday you can’t here…nothing over 1m3 can be touched.

This is our restriction -

Interdiction de remplissage des piscines privées (de plus d’1 m3) sauf remise à niveau.

I take that to mean topping up only for pools over 1m3.

Is there anyone who is closing their pool cover during the day to avoid evaporation… ???

I’m rather wondering if things like this will become priority/essential, if the drought/dryness is something we will have to live with…

They should put the cover on if the pool isn’t being used although it won’t stop all evaporation.

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I believe some covers can reduce water loss by 95%…
with Drought situation, that sort of thing might well become necessary/advisable in future years… unless Noah’s Flood comes along … and changes things once again… :roll_eyes: :rofl: :rofl:

My swimming pond is losing nothing from evaporation. Today it was the hottest its ever been, 21 c. :joy: but still felt cold on first entry. But it is almost completely sheltered by large trees so loses little. Didn’t see Hissing Sid or his friend, or offsping today, maybe they are sheltering on the bottom for longer periods.

Even the bottom pond which really suffers in the heat has now got quite a lot of vegetation, vines etc growing over it, so I am hoping it will lose less in future years.

All our washing machine water goes into a blue tub for watering the veg patch.

Even the eco wash uses 35 litres of water. No grey to keep green. :smile:

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These are our restrictions

affichesecheresse.pdf (340.0 KB)

I suspect your swimming pond might be fed from groundwater, seeping in, however slowly… we have some like that in our area… but our groundwater-table is now very low…

I very much doubt it, it is a pond dug and linered by me with heavy duty rubber, if there was a leak it would go outwards, not inwards, just as the small leak in the bottom pond gradually loses water from that one, which is at the very least 5 vertical metres lower than the swimming pond.

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Ha ha… seems it’s a magic swimming pond… if it’s keeping its level despite the drought… I’ve seen too many dried out and frog-less manmade ponds this year… :sob: our little friends are sadly missed…

Well super hot here. Not much left green. For my hedging planted last spring trying to keep alive with thick paillage and watering. I’ve actually got a well with pump and network of connections but I stopped using it years ago I didn’t think it was reasonable to have green lawn when everywhere around was yellow. Now I have yellow weeds but at least I’m not using all that water for vanity.

yellow is a fashionable colour, so I’m told… :+1: :wink:

I wish someone had told the brambles and the wild cornus there is a drought. :roll_eyes:

Aha… if you’ve got brambles… perhaps the stick-insects won’t be far away… :wink: :rofl:

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