Tails From Provence

This fountain in the village square is fed by a natural spring, which pops up in the woods just above Reillanne.

After the big fountain, the water continues to smaller fountain lower down in the village, which is turned off at the moment.

From there, it flows on to the lavoir, where the villagers used to go to do their washing Back In The Day.

I notice that, while the authorities are at pains to point out that it’s ‘Eau non Controlé’ (the little plaque at the top left), the locals all know that it’s ‘Eau Potable’ – drinkable!

From the lavoir, it trickles away in a drain, which seems pretty silly, given the current water crisis!  Although I know that someone is taking this run-off and watering their vegetable garden, so it’s not a total waste.

Every day, there is a steady stream of people to the fountain in the village square, as in the top photo.  They fill bottles and containers of all shapes and sizes to use in their homes.  Some houses are already without water, other people are just doing the civic thing and cutting back on the amount of tap water they are using.  In addition to the ordinary folk, there’s also a slightly smaller stream of tractors and 4 x 4’s, towing or carrying water tanks, to fill up and bring back to their farms.  Remy will be joining these soon to top up the two big cisterns at the side of the barn.  They are down to the half way mark, and Georges does not want them to run dry.  If that happens, none of the automatic waterers will work any more.  Watering all the horses individually would be a nightmare.  No no no… I don’t want that to happen!

FYI it takes about an hour to fill a 4000 litre tanker.  Plenty of time to stop for a coffee and a chat in one of the cafés!