Water is abundant in Lorgues. The configuration of the old town is organized according to the layout of the water sources. Two rivers water the commune: the Florièye and the Argens, but above all the town long used two nearby sources: the Canal and the Pond (today, the supply comes from the local sources of Ste Foy and Entraigues). The naturally sloping terrain of the town allowed maximum use of these canals. The wash-house and its fountain were the obligatory meeting point for women, young people and also animals.
The canals were scrupulously maintained until the 1930s, as was the washhouse on Canal Street. The Canal flowed until the heat wave of 2003; now it flows intermittently, but its bed has been completely redone, because of the flooding in 2010.
These canals and the fountains that line the streets, were used to water the gardens, as at the Lower Fountain (Font basse), in a still very rural town, and also served to run the olive oil mills, as in the “rue des Moulins”, now rue du Docteur Courdouan.
They were also an ornament of the city, such the “Walnut” Fountain or more recently the Fontaine des Demoiselles. Other older ones, as the Fountain of the Pump, brought their water to the inhabitants of the old “castrum”.
The circuit of the town’s fountains makes a pleasant walk (pick up a copy, in French only, from the Tourist Office or download the pdf by clicking the link below).