Sustainable Management of Water

The core of Veolia Water's business is linked to the environment, which is one of the major concerns of sustainable development.

Protecting nature, conserving water resources, taking steps to reduce the ecological footprint of its activities, developing innovative technologies thanks to which it will be possible to obtain good quality water from alternative resources (seawater or treated and recycled wastewater for example). These are some of the principles which underpins Veolia's policy for a more sustainable development.

Often there is chronic degradation of resources (surface water and groundwater) as well as the risk of accidental pollution.

To begin with, Veolia Water identifies chronic pollution (linked by example to the use of pesticides in agriculture) as well as the risks of accidental pollution of those resources earmarked for the production of drinking water.

Continuous monitoring of water resources then ensures the prevention of any possible threats which could affect it. For example, safety zones placed round drinking water abstraction points are monitored. Sensors sound out the alarm in the event of an incident.

Overused, an aquifer can dry up or begin to deteriorate. Overpolluted, it can no longer be used to produce drinking water.

Abstracting resources without touching this "water-capital" is therefore a necessity in order to protect our shared heritage as well as meet long term water requirements.

It is for this reason that Veolia Water endeavors to conserve water resources. One of the ways it manages to do this is by minimizing abstraction of the resources. This is achieved primarily through responsibly managing demand and by identifying and reducing leaks in the water supply system (i.e. leaks from the mains).

Veolia Water has developed long-term solutions to reduce pressure on water resources.

One of these is the recycling of wastewater. Once it has undergone a specific treatment process, the recycling of wastewater allows an available resource to be continuously reused at a local level for new purposes in agriculture, in industry or in tourism (watering golf courses and sport grounds for example).

Veolia Water's technologies and expertise enables it to use reliable and cost effective solutions to produce drinking water from desalinated seawater. This resource is available in vast quantities but in its original state is completely unfit to drink. Seawater should become one of the main alternative resources in years to come. It is made possible by the reduction of energy costs of the desalination techniques thanks to advances in technology.

Finally, treated wastewater can, under certain conditions, be used to artificially recharge aquifers or water tables (i.e. streamsides) thanks to the filtration power and storage capacity of the earth.