Drought in Alpes-Maritimes: 101 municipalities affected by water use restrictions

Updated on 25/09/2026

The prefect has decided to implement additional measures due to the ongoing deterioration of water resources in the department. These measures aim to preserve available water resources across the territory and ensure shared water usage.

101 municipalities are subject to restrictions

45 municipalities are under alert:

* Upper Roya watershed: Tende, La Brigue, Fontan, Saorge, Breil-sur-Roya, Moulinet, Sospel, Castillon

* Lower Roya watershed: Castellar, Gorbio, Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, La Turbie, Beausoleil, Menton, Saint-Agnès

* Esteron watershed: Briançonnet, Saint-Auban, Gars, Le Mas, Amirat, Les Mujouls, Collongues, Sallagriffon, Aiglun, Sigale, La Roque-en-Provence, Coursegoules, La Penne, Saint-Antonin, Cuébris, Roquesteron, Conségudes, Bézaudun-les-Alpes, Les Ferres, Pierrefeu, Bouyon, Le Broc, Gilette, Bonson, Revest-les-Roches, Tourette-du-Château, Toudon, Ascros

+ Due to dual zoning with the Esteron watershed, which supplies part of their drinking water, the municipalities of Carros and Gattières are also placed at drought alert stage

* Artuby watershed: Valderoure, Séranon, Caille, Andon

* Lower Var watershed: Saint-Laurent-du-Var

46 municipalities are at reinforced alert:

* Brague watershed: Antibes, Biot

* Paillons watershed: Bendejun, Berre-les-Alpes, Blausasc, Cantaron, Coaraze, Contes, Drap, l’Escarène, Lucéram, Peille, Peillon, Touët-de-l’Escarène.

* Upper Siagne watershed: Cabris, Escragnolles, Grasse, Peymeinade, Saint-Cézairesur-Siagne, Saint-Vallier-de-Thiey, Spéracèdes, Le Tignet

+ With dual zoning involving the Loup and the upper Siagne, the lower Siagne zone (zone 13) is placed at enhanced alert level. The affected municipalities are Théoule-sur-Mer, Mandelieu-la-Napoule, Cannes, Le Cannet, Vallauris, Mougins, La Roquette-sur-Siagne, Pégomas, Auribeau-sur-Siagne, Mouans-Sartoux

* Loup watershed: Le Bar-sur-Loup, Caussols, Châteauneuf-de-Grasse, Cipières, La Colle-sur-Loup, Courmes, Gourdon, Gréolières, Opio, Roquefort-les-Pins, Le Rouret, Tourrettes-sur-Loup, Valbonne, Villeneuve-Loubet

Additional specific restrictions apply to agricultural, industrial, and craft activities, whose aim is also to save water resources, in a spirit of solidarity among all residents and economic sectors.

5 municipalities are in crisis:

Cagne watershed: Cagnes-sur-Mer (only for uses not connected to drinking water\), La Gaude, Saint-Jeannet, Saint-Paul-de-Vence, Vence.

\* Special case of the municipality of Cagnes-sur-Mer:

The municipality of Cagne-sur-Mer is mostly located within the Cagne river basin, but it imports all of its drinking water from the Loup river basin (Tines catchment). As a result, on this municipality, uses connected to the drinking water network are subject to measures applicable to the Loup basin, which is currently at the enhanced alert stage.

Additional specific restrictions apply to agricultural, industrial, and craft activities, whose objective is also to achieve water resource savings, in the spirit of solidarity among all residents and economic sectors.

The other municipalities remain at the drought vigilance stage, applicable since 1 June 2026

Different users are encouraged to adopt behaviors of sobriety and solidarity, especially since the alert level aims to achieve water savings in order to prevent or delay any further deterioration that might justify the implementation of restrictions. This requirement is all the more justified because, locally in mountainous areas, certain environments may already be suffering due to excessive pressures—such as drilling or private extractions—leading to pronounced drying of tributaries of main rivers, even though the overall area is currently at the alert level without specific restrictions.

An alarming meteorological and hydrological situation for several months

* A rainfall deficit of nearly 17% since September 2025

* 81% of monitored aquifers below seasonal averages

* Excess thermal anomalies of +2.9 °C in June and +3.8 °C in July

A steady increase in water consumption of +18% compared to last year has been observed, despite ongoing restrictions in place for several weeks that have helped reduce pressure on the resource.

As the weekend of 15 August approaches—a period traditionally marked by increased water consumption—the Prefect of Alpes-Maritimes calls on the entire population (individuals, professionals, tourists, local authorities) to practice water sobriety. Water is a resource that must be preserved through collective efforts.

Controls carried out in the department:

The Departmental Directorate of Territories and the Sea (DDTM) and the French Office for Biodiversity (OFB) are conducting inspections in the department. These inspections ensure compliance with current restrictions for all water users, particularly in condominiums and hotels. Since the measures began, 60 inspections have been carried out, and 68 % revealed non-compliance with regulations, resulting in 41 judicial proceedings.

And afterwards, what are the prospects:

The summer season has been extremely hot, with heatwaves and heatwave episodes occurring consecutively since late May. The department has been under an orange weather warning for heatwaves for 15 consecutive days, and Météo-France forecasts do not indicate a reversal of this trend.

For reference, temperature is a key factor in maintaining sufficient water levels and limiting evaporation and evapotranspiration. Rising temperatures combined with reduced flow rates lead to increased water temperatures in rivers, significantly impacting the fauna and flora that inhabit them.

Due to the evolving situation observed by State services, new restrictions on water withdrawal and consumption may be implemented in the coming weeks.

Find on <https://vigieau.gouv.fr/> the eco-friendly practices to adopt in order to reduce your water consumption.