Climate change, with episodes of drought and heavy rainfall, is complicating the fight for water quality that has improved in the south and east of France over the past 30 years, the Rhône-Mediterranean-Corsica water agency said on Friday. quoted by AFP.

“Since 1990, there has been a clear improvement, mainly due to better treatment systems and a reduction in the use of polluting products,” the agency’s director general, Laurent Roy, said on Friday.

The agency, which is part of France’s Ministry of the Environment, takes millions of river, lake and groundwater samples each year in a vast area covering a quarter of France, from Burgundy in the northeast to Roussillon in the southwest, including the Alps in the east and the Rhone Valley in the south. and also Corsica.

The agency noted that 15 years after the ban on phosphates in detergents, the level of concentration of metals in rivers was divided by six, and phosphorus by ten.

According to the agency, half of the rivers leading to the Mediterranean Sea are in good condition, with criteria ranging from the chemical quality of the water to the number of fish present.

“But because of global warming, the environment is suffering. More heat means more evaporation and a higher concentration of pollutants in rivers,” said the expert.

“We need to act stronger and faster. It’s like running on a treadmill in reverse: we’re making progress, but it’s harder to reach our goals,” he added.

He also noted that the hundreds of pharmaceuticals, steroids, hormones and other cosmetics found in rivers are a growing concern.

In order to reduce pollution, he said, the Commission has started a pilot program of “payments for environmental services” (PES) with farmers. It’s a way to encourage farmers, some of whom are already “highly motivated,” according to Mr. Roy, to switch to greener agriculture.