Water supply and sanitation in France
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| France: Water and Sanitation | ||
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| Data | ||
| Water coverage (broad definition) | 100% | |
| Sanitation coverage (narrow definition) | n/a | |
| Continuity of supply (%) | 100% | |
| Average urban water use (l/c/d) | n/a | |
| Average urban domestic water and sewer bill for 20m3 | Euro 15/month | |
| Share of household metering | high | |
| Non-revenue water | 26% | |
| Share of collected wastewater treated | 100% | |
| Annual investment in WSS | n/a | |
| Share of self-financing by utilities | 100% | |
| Share of tax-financing | 0% | |
| Share of external financing | 0% | |
| Institutions | ||
| Decentralization to municipalities | Yes | |
| National water and sanitation company | None | |
| Water and sanitation regulator | No | |
| Responsibility for policy setting | ||
| Sector law | None | |
| Number of service providers | about 13,500 (water) and about 15,000 (sanitation)[1] | |
Water supply and sanitation in France is universal and of good quality. Salient features of the sector compared to other developed countries are the high degree of private sector participation using concession and lease contracts (gestion déléguée) and the existence of basin agencies that levy fees on utilities in order to finance environmental investments. Water losses in France are high compared to England and Germany.
This article is part of a series of articles describing water and sanitation in various countries around the world using the same categories to facilitate comparison. For more details see the links to articles on other countries in the category "Water supply and sanitation by country" at the end of the article.
Contents |
[edit] Access
| Urban (76% of the population) | Rural (24% of the population) | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | Broad definition | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| House connections | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Program (2004) [2]
Access to improved water supply in France is universal. There are no data to access to sanitation, although it is estimated that most of the population is served by sewers and the remainder through on-site sanitation.
[edit] Water use
According to the Centre d'Information sur l'Eau (CIEAU)[8] residential water use in France is for the following uses:
- 39 % for baths and showers
- 20 % for toilets
- 12 % for washing clothes
- 10 % for washing dishes
- 6 % for food preparation
- 6 % for other residential uses
- 6 % for outdoor uses (lawn watering and washing cars)
- 1 % for drinking
[edit] Water sources
Total domestic water use in France is about 6 billion cubic meters or only about 3 percent of total runoff (191 billion cubic meters). 62 percent of drinking water supply is from groundwater and 38 percent from surface water.[3]
[edit] Service quality
Service quality is generally good with continuous water supply. However, there are apparently no national statistics on sewer overflows. Drinking water quality is generally good in compliance with the EU drinking water directive (see EU water policy). However, according to a 2004 survey by CIEAU only 71% of respondents considered their drinking water quality of good quality.[9] As in other EU countries, water quality monitoring is carried out at two levels, first by the service provider on a permanent basis, and second by the authorities on a sample basis.
[edit] Responsibility for water supply and sanitation
[edit] Service provision
Among the 36,700 municipalities in France, 23,000 are part of 2,000 intermunicipal utilities (organismes de coopération intercommunale, syndicats intercommunaux or groupements intercommunaux) to provide water supply and - in some cases - sanitation services. More than 13,000 municipalities provide sanitation services - and in some cases water services - by themselves. There are thus about 15,000 "organizing entities" (municipalities and municipal associations) in the French sanitation sector and 13,500 in the water sector.[4] Sanitation services (understood as sewerage and wastewater treatment in this context) are sometimes provided by the same entity that provides water services, but in some cases they are provided directly by the municipality even if an intermunicipal utility is in charge of water supply.
[edit] Private sector participation
Some municipalities or intermunicipal utilities manage water and/or sanitation services directly (gestion directe) or through public municipal utilities (gestion en régie). Others contract these services out to a private company (gestion déléguée). This is usually done through a lease contract (affermage) or a concession contract. A lease contract is of shorter duration (10-15 years) and the responsibility to finance most of the infrastructure remains with the municipality. A concession contract is of longer duration (20-30 years) and the concessionnaire is in charge of mobilizing financial resources. In both cases, the municipality or the intermunicipal utility fixes the water and sanitation tariff and remains the owner of the infrastructure.
There are three large private French water companies:
- Veolia Environnement (known as Compagnie Générale des Eaux in France) provided drinking water to 24.5 million people and wastewater services to 16.2 million people in 2006, in partnership with more than 8,000 municipalities, including parts of Paris, Lyon and - through a subsidiary - of Marseille[5]
- SUEZ (known as Compagnie Lyonnaise des Eaux in France) provided 14 million people with water services in 5,000 municipalities and 9 million with wastewater services in 2,600 municipalities [6]
- SAUR provides water and sanitation services to 5.5 million people in more than 6,700 municipalities and municipal associations, mainly in rural and peri-urban areas.[7]
Out of 64 million inhabitants of France at least 44 million (69%) and 30 million (47%) customers are thus served by private water companies with water and sanitation services respectively.[8] This makes the French water and sanitation sector somewhat of a paradox in an economy where the state still plays a much stronger role than in Anglo-Saxon countries, where most water utilities are public with the exception of England and Wales.
[edit] Criticism of private sector participation
According to Katherine Varin of the secretariat of CELSIG (Comité européen de liaison sur les Services d'intérêt général), private sector participation provides many benefits, but is also characterized by "deep imbalances".[9] For example, tariffs charged by private providers were said to be 28% higher than for public service providers in 1996, while quality was said to be often lower. According to the Ministry of Environment, tariffs by private providers were 22% higher than for public providers in 1992, and 13% higher in 1998 after competition in the sector had been somewhat strengthened by limiting the duration of contracts to 20 years. [10]
Still according to Varin, the three large private water companies are in a much stronger negotiation position than the municipalities, thus leading to regulatory capture. There is almost no real competition in the sector: about 90% of contracts are renewed with the same concessionaire. Large utilities also can manipulate transfer prices, thus making their finances intransparent to municipal regulators. It is also almost impossible to recreate public municipal companies, so that privatization becomes de facto a one-way street. Finally, private water utilities have been used as a vehicle for financing election campaigns and other political activities, leading to corrupt practices despite several laws passed to prevent corruption in the 1990s.
Some municipal associations, such as in Grenoble, have sued private operators leading to the cancellation of contracts and to a prison sentence against the mayor of Grenoble in 1996.[11]
[edit] Policy and regulation
Unlike in many other countries (such as England, Wales, US states and many develpping countries) there is no national regulatory agency in France that would approve tariffs and set and control service standards. The economic regulation of private service provision is purely by contract through the municipality.
Environmental regulation is the responsibility of the Ministry of Environment. Wastewater discharge standards, drinking water quality standards and the framework for water resources management are defined by the European Union through various directives (see EU water policy). The country's six water agencies (Agences de l'Eau, formerly Agences de Bassins) play an important role to bring together stakeholders at the basin level in a "Water Parliament", in levying water abstraction fees and wastewater discharge fees, and in financing infrastructure with the revenues from these fees. The French water agencies are considered by some as a model for water resources management at the basin level, a principle espoused by water resources management experts around the world.
[edit] Tariffs
According to a study by NUS consulting (January 2006) the average water and sanitation tariff in France was € 3.02 per cubic meter. According to the study the average water tariff (without sanitation) in France was the equivalent of US$ 1.58, making water in France the 5th most expensive out of the 14 countries considered in the study. In the 14 mainly OECD countries tariffs excluding VAT varied between US$ 0.66 per cubic meter in the United States and the equivalent of US$ 2.25 per cubic meter in Denmark.[12] However, it should be noted that water consumption in the US and in Canada (which have lower tariffs) is much higher than in France and water consumption is lower in Germany (which has higher tariffs). Therefore, residential water bills may be very similar, even if the tariff per unit of consumption differs.
According to a study commissioned by the German water industry association BGW in 2006, the average per capita water bill was only 85 Euro in France, higher than in Germany (82 Euro) or Italy (59 Euro), but lower than in England and Wales (95 Euro).
Comparison of annual water and sanitation bills in four EU countries
| Water tariff | Sewer tariff | Total | |
| Germany | 85 Euro | 111 Euro | 196 Euro |
| England and Wales | 95 Euro | 93 Euro | 188 Euro |
| France | 85 Euro | 90 Euro | 175 Euro |
| Italy | 59 Euro | 40 Euro | 99 Euro |
Source: Metropolitan Consulting Group: VEWA - Vergleich europaeischer Wasser- und Abwasserpreise, 2006, p. 7 of the executive summary [10] Taking into account subsidies and difference in the quality of services, the cost of supplying water was estimated at 84 Euro in Germany, 106 Euro in both France and England/Wales, and 74 Euro in Italy. Concerning sanitation, unequalized tariffs are by far the highest in Germany at 111 Euro per year, 93 Euro in England and Wales, 90 Euro in France and only 40 Euro in Italy. Equalized costs net of subsidies are, however, highest in England and Wales with 138 Euro, followed by France (122 Euro), Germany (119 Euro) and Italy (85 Euro).[13]
[edit] Costs
In the year 2005
- 46 % of water and sanitation tariffs were linked to water treatment and distribution;
- 37 % were linked to wastewater collection and treatment;
- 17 % corresponded to fees and taxes.[14]
Fees are destined to the six water agencies at the basin level mentioned above. Taxes include a water consumption tax and VAT.
According to a study by the consulting firm BIPE drawing on national statistics the share of household expenditures devoted to water and sewer bills was 0.8% and the average annual water and sewer bill was 374 Euro per household in 2005.[15]
[edit] Efficiency (Water losses)
According to a study commissioned by the German water industry association BGW water losses in the distribution network in France have been estimated at an average 26 percent, compared to only 7 percent in Germany, 19 percent in England/Wales and 29 percent in Italy [16] The study states that its methodology allows for an accurate comparison, including water used to flush pipes and for firefighting. This is consistent with the International Water Association's definition of non-revenue water, which includes authorized non-metered consumption such as for flushing and firefighting.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Ministry of Environment: Water management models
- ^ WHO/UNICEF JMP [1]
- ^ CIEAU [2]
- ^ Ministry of Environment: Water management models
- ^ Veolia in France
- ^ Suez presence and Suez key figures
- ^ SAUR
- ^ Ministry of Environment: Water management models quotes even higher figures: 75% for water and 50% for sanitation
- ^ AITEC:DOSSIER EAU - Le service public de l'eau en France
- ^ Ministry of Environment
- ^ AITEC:DOSSIER EAU - Le service public de l'eau en France and PSIRU Grenoble
- ^ NUS Consulting 2005-2006 International Water Report & Cost Survey [3] The study covered Denmark, Germany, the UK, Belgium, France, The Netherlands, Italy, Finland, Australia, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, Canada and the US. It should be noted that the report means by "costs" average tariffs and not the costs of the utility, which can be lower or higher than average tariffs
- ^ Metropolitan Consulting Group: VEWA - Vergleich europaeischer Wasser- und Abwasserpreise, p. 7 of the executive summary [4]
- ^ CIEAU [5]
- ^ BIPE, quoted in CIEAU[6]
- ^ Metropolitan Consulting Group: VEWA - Vergleich europaeischer Wasser- und Abwasserpreise, p. 4 of the executive summary [7]
[edit] External links
Centre d'Information sur l'Eau
French private water companies
- Veolia Water (ex-Compagnie Generale des Eaux) Veolia
- SUEZ Environnement (ex-Compagnie Lyonnaise des Eaux) SUEZ
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