In Southern France, from Pamiers to Toulouse, the massive water table fed by runoff from the Pyrenees mountains is under threat. The culprit: gravel quarries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gravel pits built above the water table create large, uncovered reservoirs, leaving it exposed to evaporation that clearly lowers the water level. The holes are then filled in with toxic waste from construction sites, either from private construction companies or public demolition works. The gravel quarries are paid to dispose of the waste.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Construction waste does not have the same porosity as gravel \u2014 normally the sand and gravel act as a natural purification system for the groundwater. In contrast, the construction site waste destroys this filtering capacity, blocking the natural function of the water table and resulting in polluted water. The gravel quarries\u2019 activities also exacerbate drought, drying up local streams, rivers and soil \u2014 as the water table is low, it sucks water back up from streams, leaving them dry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There have been claims that the construction waste is not toxic, but in contact with water this isn\u2019t the case. Local environmental associations have done tests on the area that demonstrated<\/a> toxic levels of aluminum \u2014 a component of concrete \u2014 from the construction waste that is dumped in the water table. <\/p>\n\n\n\n