| Type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Water supply, water treatment and sewage treatment |
| Founded | 1853 |
| Headquarters | Paris, France |
| Key people | Jean-Michel Herrewyn (Chief Executive Officer)[1] |
| Revenue | €12.5 billion |
| Owner(s) | Veolia Environnement |
| Employees | 95,789 |
| Subsidiaries | Proxiserve SEDE Environnement Sétude Seureca SIDEF Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies |
| Website | veoliawater.com |
Veolia Water (formerly Vivendi Water, originally Générale des Eaux), the water division of the French company Veolia Environnement, is the world's largest supplier of water services.
Veolia has water operations in 66 countries across the globe, employing 95,789 workers worldwide and serving completely or partly about 64 metropolitan areas with more than 139 million inhabitants, including:
It is strongest in Europe, particularly in its native France and Germany. Its biggest competitor is Suez Environnement.
In 2009, the group posted revenues of €12.56 billion.[2]
72.9% of turnover comes from Europe; 7.4% from the Americas, 8.5% from Africa, Middle East and India, and 11.2% from the Asia-Pacific region.[3]
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The Compagnie Générale des Eaux (CGE) was created in 1853. In 1889, its first research laboratory was established at 52, rue d’Anjou in Paris, France. Veolia Water’s headquarters are still located at this site.
1918 saw the creation of the SADE (Société Auxiliaire des Distributions d'Eau), specialising in water networks and the delivery of drinking water. In 1953, construction began on a Veolia water treatment facility at Clay Lane, near London; by 2001, it was the world’s largest ultrafiltration plant, supplying water to 750,000 people in the city.
Veolia Water’s humanitarian crisis response team, Waterforce, was created in 1998, prompted by hurricane Mitch in Nicaragua and the flooding of the Yangtze River in China.
In 2002, Veolia Water expanded its municipal water services in 2002 to major cities such as Indianapolis (USA), Bucharest (Romania), Berlin (Germany) and Shanghai (China). Three years later, Veolia Environnement united its four global divisions (Environmental Services, Energy, Transport and Water) under the Veolia brand. The CGE became Veolia Water.[4]
Veolia Water’s activities can be grouped into two main areas: providing clean drinking water, and collecting and treating waste water/ swerage water.[5]
Veolia Water sources of water from the environment (surface water deposits, rivers and subterranean aquifers); treats it to ensure it is drinkable; provides safe and clean piping and storage; and distributes it to populations. Veolia Water supplies nearly 95 million people around the world with drinking water.[6]
Veolia Water collects and then treats water in line with national and international regulations. Different treatments are provided depending on the level of pollution. Afterwards, the water re-enters the water cycle. Veolia Water delivers water treatment services to 68 million people around the world and, as of 2009, it managed 3,229 municipal water treatment plants.[7]
Veolia Water also provides a number of additional technologies and services.
The company produces water for industrial processes, and offers treatment, heating, cooling and cleaning applications for industry.[10] In August 2010, Veolia Water was awarded the wastewater treatment contract for the Petrobras Papa Terra P63 offshore oil production project, located in the Campos Basin, off the coast of Brazil.[11]
Veolia has built 15% of the world’s desalination capacity.[12] Some estimates suggest that the global water desalination market will double in the period 2010-2016.[13]
Veolia Water offers two main technologies: reverse osmosis and thermal desalination. In reverse osmosis, water is passed through membranes under pressure; the membrane allows water to circulate, but captures the salts. During thermal desalination, water is vaporized in distillation chambers to separate out the salts it contains.[14]
Not all waste water has to be recycled to produce drinking water. Veolia Water also operates in alternative recycling markets. Water that is clean, but not purified for human consumption, is suitable for irrigation, industrial uses, and the injection and storage of water into underground aquifers after additional treatment.[15]
Veolia Water works to replenish subterranean aquifers, which are being exhausted through over-exploitation in some areas. Replenishment can be achieved with treated water of various kinds: surface water, rainwater and treated waste water.[16]
Veolia Water works on reducing the environmental impact of water use through a number of strategies.
In 2008, Veolia Water established Grameen-Veolia Water, Ltd. Founded in partnership with the Grameen Bank (a microcredit lender) created by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, the entity aims to provide clean drinking water to 100,000 people in Bangladesh.[18]
Veolia Water’s subsidiaries include:
Veolia Water also has joint subsidiaries with other Veolia divisions. With Dalkia, it has Proxiserve. This subsidiary offers a number of home-based or domestic solutions, including heating and water distribution systems. With Veolia Environmental Services, it has SEDE Environnement (management of waste sludge) and SIDEF (Services to Industry for the Treatment of Effluent).[19]