The Foillets water source is measured at 26-29f° (French degrees) hardness, which classifies it as relatively ‘hard’ water. Although it poses no risk to human health (on the contrary, hard water is rich in mineral salts and satisfies a large part of calcium and magnesium requirements), hard water can nevertheless cause damage to infrastructure, in particular because of the limescale deposits that clog the pipes of some households and clog their machines.  

The water from the Foillets spring is collected directly above Commeire (1600m altitude). Its flow rate varies between 2 and 5 litres per second with peaks of 10 litres.

To overcome this problem, some individuals have equipped their water supply with water softeners. However, these are private initiatives, at the discretion of each household.  

Instead of dealing with the problem individually, i.e. household by household, is there a global solution that would allow the Foillets spring to be treated as a whole, at the first reservoir above Commeire at 1530m?

• Catchment diagram
• Flow profiles during the year (January, June, October 2021)