Drought worsens as 83,000 people in France left without tap water

France’s drought crisis has, with 83,000 people without tap water in the final weeks of September and around a million seeing their tap water supplies under strain. 

Households without access to their usual supplies are now receiving tap water through tanker deliveries sent to communes, or in some cases only through bottled water supplied by mairies.

The figures, from France’s health ministry, show those without tap water have increased by nearly 20,000 since the beginning of September. 

There are 79 French departments where at least one commune is on the highest-level crise alert for water restrictions, including 70 departments facing the highest alerts for tap water usage. 

In communes affected by the strictest alerts, all but essential water usage is banned. In departments facing lower-level restrictions, rules differ but often include bans on washing cars and watering plants/gardens.

Information on all water usage restrictions in your commune can be found on the government VigiEau website, and our article here explains how to navigate the site. 

Northern France at risk

Communes across France have seen tap water supplies run dry, but the issue – and the threat of further outages – applies particularly in the north and north-west. 

In Brittany, around 75% of drinking water comes from surface areas reservoirs and rivers fed by rainfall. This is not usually a problem for the peninsula which sees rainfall throughout much of the year.

The lack of rain so far in 2026 – after a very wet start to the year – has seen resources strained, however.

The town of Saint-Malo (Ille-et-Vilaine)  has only around 60 days of water left, said local authorities. 

“We have less than a third of our reserves left; in practical terms, this means that if we do not see significant rainfall in the coming months, we will run out of water by the end of November,” said director of the Syndicat des eaux du Pays de Saint-Malo Franck-Olivier Henry to FranceInfo.

One of the town’s reservoirs is already completely dry, with the others showing low levels.

Residents have been asked to reduce water consumption to around 40 litres per day, down from a typical average of 150. 

In Mayenne (Pays de la Loire region) an intercommunal authority representing 33 communes of the department predicts there are only around three to four weeks left of water, as reserves from the Mayenne river continue to dry up.

A reservoir containing water from the river used by households is drying up at a rate of 3cm per day.

In July the Seine hit its lowest point since 1990, leading authorities along the river to urge residents to restrict water usage. 

The river has struggled so much this year that even with additional water released from reservoirs and lakes – used mainly for propping up the river in the summer – it is struggling to flow naturally due to the lack of water .

Will autumn rainfall arrive? And will it ease the drought crisis?

The main reason for the loss of tap water was the record-breaking summer, where fierce heatwaves combined with a drop in rainfall to further deepen the crisis. 

The lack of rainfall seen in the summer extended into September, as the month saw a 70% reduction in typical rainfall levels, with only around 21mm falling on average across the country.

It was the third-driest September on record since 1958, said state forecaster Météo France. 

This came after exceptionally dry months in April (-60% rainfall), June (-50%) and July (–60%).

Weather conditions for the rest of 2026 are therefore vital for easing the crisis.

This week’s forecasts show a return of rain to many areas in France, however, this is unlikely to be enough on its own to reverse the lack of summer rainfall.

There is a possibility of strong storms this winter caused in part by a strong El Niño, a natural climate pattern caused by changing ocean temperatures in the Pacific.

However, rainfall that is too sudden and fierce does not permeate through soils, and instead leads to flooding as it remains above ground level. 

Drought restrictions are therefore set to remain in place until water aquifers are refilled.