Crippling drought, rising tensions

In the Deux-Sèvres department of western France, a large water reservoir stands out against corn fields nearby. This artificial pool, with a capacity of 260 000 m3, is one of 1,000 projects currently underway in France. It works by collecting and storing rainwater that naturally infiltrates the subsoil in winter, providing a stable supply of water for farmers to use in spring and summer.

These reservoirs may seem like the ideal solution to salvage crops from recurrent droughts, especially as the surface area of French cultivated land that needs to be irrigated has gone up by 15 percent in the last decade. But what originated as a smart hack is turning out to be an environmental disaster. Activists in the area have condemned what they have described as a "water grab" to the detriment of an entire ecosystem.

Five farming businesses are connected to the reservoir, including a goat farm run by two brothers, Samuel and Basile. They say that if it wasn't for the reservoir, their alfalfa production to feed their animals would have been compromised. "It's not a case of water hoarding," explains François Petorin, the president of the local water cooperative, adding their activities are strictly regulated by the government dictating the quantity of water that can be extracted. 

Julien Leguet, the spokesperson of the citizens' group "Basins, no thank you!" is adamant that the so-called mega-reservoirs amount to a water grab. The non-profit sees a clear link between rivers drying up and the construction of water reservoirs. 

"The great failing in our country today is that we are stealing an entire territory, an entire ecosystem's water, for the benefit of a few," says Leguet. 

One of the main criticisms of reservoirs is the