The Lille metropolis does not recommend tap water for infants: "it's a precautionary principle"

The consequences of the drought are sometimes unexpected: starting Tuesday, parents of babies under six months residing in 74 of the 90 municipalities of the Lille metropolis are invited to prepare the bottles of their children with bottled water.

Drilling south of the metropolis

The explanation is simple: until now, for the production of drinking water, the services of the metropolis drew water in the river Lys. But after three years of rainfall deficit, its level is down. From Tuesday, drilling further south of the Lille region must be activated.

74 of the 90 #MELs are affected by a restriction on tap water use for infants under 6 months of age: http://t.co/sD3hqgAJ1Xpic.twitter.com/DZKvJa4M5X

Problem: These holes are polluted by perchlorates, chemical residues from the ammunition of the First World War, and which dissolved, over time, in the basement. At these drilling sites, perchlorate levels in the water exceed just 4 mg per liter, the first regulatory threshold for infants under six months of age.

"The population can continue to take showers"

"I reassure the population, the water is always drinkable for the entire population," says Europe 1 Alain Detournay, vice president of water at the metropolis of Lille. "Moms can even wash their bottles with tap water, they avoid preparing their bottles with tap water but to rinse them, there is no problem.The population can continue to take showers, c is really a precautionary principle and we apply the prefectural decree "

The rates are well below the threshold justifying a ban on consumption for pregnant women, set at 15 mg per liter. But the recommendations for babies could last several weeks, while the autumn rains allow the Lys to return to normal levels.