Remunicipalization for Increased Access
Summary
To ensure Parisians' access to fresh, high-quality water, the City of Paris consolidated all public water operators under one roof: Eau de Paris .
In the early 2000s, Parisians were faced with poor water access and increasing prices for water resources. The two main private companies (Veolia and Suez) providing the city with water lacked both transparency and accountability on these issues (Mairie de Paris, 2013). In 2008, the Parisian government decided to discontinue their contracts with Veolia and Suez and create a public water utility, Eau de Paris, (Paris Water) to ensure equitable water access for all Parisians (City Council, 2008). Despite substantial pushback from Veolia and Suez, coupled with the initial financial and logistical challenges of the handover, Eau de Paris became the official and sole water provider for the city in 2010. The municipal management of Paris and the City of Paris spearheaded the transition, and both institutions are represented in the management of Eau de Paris , alongside various environmental, labor, and consumer groups (Mairie de Paris, 2013). By creating a more comprehensive base of consumers, managers, and laborers in Paris's water management, Eau de Paris is now able to tackle environmental, economic, and social problems that are both a result and cause of water inequity. While much of the world's water resources have become privatized in recent years, Paris went in the opposite direction and returned to a single universal provider. At its core, Eau de Paris named the right to water, so all could have continuous access.
Intervention
The factors leading to the decision to transition to a singular water entity for the City of Paris in the 2000s were threefold: (i) increase overall efficiency, (ii) ensure access, and (iii) address overarching social, economic, and environmental problems (City Council, 2008; Eau de Paris, 2019; Mairie de Paris, 2013). The first step in doing this was to perform a series of audits on Veolia and Suez. These audits evidenced the inequitable increase of tariffs throughout Paris under their private management (Mairie de Paris, 2013). In 2008, the Paris City Council voted to discontinue their current contracts with Suez and Veolia. This was a quick phased process from 2008-2010, with only 18 months to complete the transition. In 2009, Eau de Paris began to take over water production and transportation and incorporated members of the Water Quality Control Service to ensure quality water remained throughout. Once Eau de Paris received all the information from Suez and Veolia, Eau de Paris began to centralize all aspects of its operations (i.e., production, transport, sanitation, etc.). Since then, Eau de Paris has become the public water operator, and the City of Paris defines its policies, determines its objectives, and controls its activities.
The mission carried out by Eau de Paris has 10 main objectives: 1) guarantee a quality water supply in all circumstances; 2) place the user at the heart of the water service; 3) ensure rigorous and balanced management; 4) guarantee access to water; 5) ensure the performance of the network and installations; 6) ensure sustainability and an optimal level of property maintenance; 7) develop a prospective vision of the water supply system; 8) put social innovation at the service of performance; 9) be part of the stated sustainable development policy; and 10) manage and develop the non-potable water service (Eau de Paris, 2019).
Challenges
The challenges and consequences associated with remunicipalization should not go unnoticed. Depending on the contracts in place with private water companies, cities may have to pay the companies for their loss in profits and may face high buy-back costs (Grafton et al., 2015; World Future Council, 2015). Additionally, funding for cities to manage water as a public commodity may not be readily available. Thus, a public-private-partnership water management system may be an adequate middle-ground for cities that cannot afford the upfront costs of remunicipalization and want to avoid complete water privatization.
Outcomes
Eau de Paris employs over 900 individuals who have integrated all aspects of Paris's water cycle, from consumption to waste, so users deal with a single structure (Eau de Paris, n.d.; Le Strat, 2010). This integration has allowed for a far better understanding of how Paris uses its water and where it can improve its usage efficiency. This program is currently active across the City of Paris.
Since the launch of Eau de Paris , numerous public fountains and water fill stations have been placed all over the city. These fountains have reduced plastic water bottle usage by encouraging free refills. Ending the contracts with Suez and Veolia saved Paris $35 million. Profits that would normally be extracted by Suez and Veolia to pay shareholders were internalized by Eau de Paris . These savings allowed consumer water tariffs to decrease by 8% in the second year (Transnational Institute, Kishimoto, S., & Gendall, S. 2015; World Future Council, 2015). In the first 5 years of Eau de Paris's operation, there was a stabilization of the overall cost of water to $1.043/m3 (World Future Council, 2015). The remunicipalization of Paris's water is estimated to have saved the city $75 million from 2010-2015. Currently, Eau de Paris is distributing 469,000 m3 of water per day, and the centralization of all water resources has allowed for the ability to monitor this distribution in real time (Eau de Paris, n.d.).
Within this transition of Eau de Paris, new policies and structures were implemented to create a water distributor that represents the diversity of the city and works for the city. For example, efforts to increase the diversity of the Eau de Paris workforce are complemented by implementing external structures to ensure diverse populations (including racial, financial, physical ability, etc.) have adequate access to drinking water (Eau de Paris, 2019). To this end, the City of Paris reserves the right to continue supplying water to buildings occupied by third parties that do not justify any right or title (i.e., informal settlements, squatters, those behind on rent, etc.), in the absence of a court decision ordering the eviction of the occupants.
References
Remunicipalization for Increased Access
Summary
To ensure Parisians' access to fresh, high-quality water, the City of Paris consolidated all public water operators under one roof: Eau de Paris .
In the early 2000s, Parisians were faced with poor water access and increasing prices for water resources. The two main private companies (Veolia and Suez) providing the city with water lacked both transparency and accountability on these issues (Mairie de Paris, 2013). In 2008, the Parisian government decided to discontinue their contracts with Veolia and Suez and create a public water utility, Eau de Paris, (Paris Water) to ensure equitable water access for all Parisians (City Council, 2008). Despite substantial pushback from Veolia and Suez, coupled with the initial financial and logistical challenges of the handover, Eau de Paris became the official and sole water provider for the city in 2010. The municipal management of Paris and the City of Paris spearheaded the transition, and both institutions are represented in the management of Eau de Paris , alongside various environmental, labor, and consumer groups (Mairie de Paris, 2013). By creating a more comprehensive base of consumers, managers, and laborers in Paris's water management, Eau de Paris is now able to tackle environmental, economic, and social problems that are both a result and cause of water inequity. While much of the world's water resources have become privatized in recent years, Paris went in the opposite direction and returned to a single universal provider. At its core, Eau de Paris named the right to water, so all could have continuous access.
Issue
Intervention
The factors leading to the decision to transition to a singular water entity for the City of Paris in the 2000s were threefold: (i) increase overall efficiency, (ii) ensure access, and (iii) address overarching social, economic, and environmental problems (City Council, 2008; Eau de Paris, 2019; Mairie de Paris, 2013). The first step in doing this was to perform a series of audits on Veolia and Suez. These audits evidenced the inequitable increase of tariffs throughout Paris under their private management (Mairie de Paris, 2013). In 2008, the Paris City Council voted to discontinue their current contracts with Suez and Veolia. This was a quick phased process from 2008-2010, with only 18 months to complete the transition. In 2009, Eau de Paris began to take over water production and transportation and incorporated members of the Water Quality Control Service to ensure quality water remained throughout. Once Eau de Paris received all the information from Suez and Veolia, Eau de Paris began to centralize all aspects of its operations (i.e., production, transport, sanitation, etc.). Since then, Eau de Paris has become the public water operator, and the City of Paris defines its policies, determines its objectives, and controls its activities.
The mission carried out by Eau de Paris has 10 main objectives: 1) guarantee a quality water supply in all circumstances; 2) place the user at the heart of the water service; 3) ensure rigorous and balanced management; 4) guarantee access to water; 5) ensure the performance of the network and installations; 6) ensure sustainability and an optimal level of property maintenance; 7) develop a prospective vision of the water supply system; 8) put social innovation at the service of performance; 9) be part of the stated sustainable development policy; and 10) manage and develop the non-potable water service (Eau de Paris, 2019).
Challenges
The challenges and consequences associated with remunicipalization should not go unnoticed. Depending on the contracts in place with private water companies, cities may have to pay the companies for their loss in profits and may face high buy-back costs (Grafton et al., 2015; World Future Council, 2015). Additionally, funding for cities to manage water as a public commodity may not be readily available. Thus, a public-private-partnership water management system may be an adequate middle-ground for cities that cannot afford the upfront costs of remunicipalization and want to avoid complete water privatization.
Outcomes
Eau de Paris employs over 900 individuals who have integrated all aspects of Paris's water cycle, from consumption to waste, so users deal with a single structure (Eau de Paris, n.d.; Le Strat, 2010). This integration has allowed for a far better understanding of how Paris uses its water and where it can improve its usage efficiency. This program is currently active across the City of Paris.
Since the launch of Eau de Paris , numerous public fountains and water fill stations have been placed all over the city. These fountains have reduced plastic water bottle usage by encouraging free refills. Ending the contracts with Suez and Veolia saved Paris $35 million. Profits that would normally be extracted by Suez and Veolia to pay shareholders were internalized by Eau de Paris . These savings allowed consumer water tariffs to decrease by 8% in the second year (Transnational Institute, Kishimoto, S., & Gendall, S. 2015; World Future Council, 2015). In the first 5 years of Eau de Paris's operation, there was a stabilization of the overall cost of water to $1.043/m3 (World Future Council, 2015). The remunicipalization of Paris's water is estimated to have saved the city $75 million from 2010-2015. Currently, Eau de Paris is distributing 469,000 m3 of water per day, and the centralization of all water resources has allowed for the ability to monitor this distribution in real time (Eau de Paris, n.d.).
Within this transition of Eau de Paris, new policies and structures were implemented to create a water distributor that represents the diversity of the city and works for the city. For example, efforts to increase the diversity of the Eau de Paris workforce are complemented by implementing external structures to ensure diverse populations (including racial, financial, physical ability, etc.) have adequate access to drinking water (Eau de Paris, 2019). To this end, the City of Paris reserves the right to continue supplying water to buildings occupied by third parties that do not justify any right or title (i.e., informal settlements, squatters, those behind on rent, etc.), in the absence of a court decision ordering the eviction of the occupants.
Issues |
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Water Governance and Policy |
Solutions |
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Governance & Accountability |
References
City Council. (2008). 2008, DPE 90—Réorganisation de la gestion du service public de l’eau à Paris. Vœu déposé par M. Yves CONTASSOT et les éluEs du groupe “Les Verts” relatif au réseau d’eau non potable. Vœu déposé par l’Exécutif. Vœu déposé par M. Yves POZZO di BORGO, Mme Fabienne GASNIER et les élus du groupe Centre et Indépendants relatif à la réorganisation du service public de l’eau à Paris. Vœu déposé par l’Exécutif. http://a06.apps.paris.fr/a06/jsp/site/Portal.jsp?page=ods-solr.display_document&id_document=18103&items_per_page=20&sort_name=&sort_order=&terms=Adjoint%20technique%20de%20l%E2%80%99eau%20et%20de%20l%E2%80%99assainissement&query=Adjoint%20technique%20de%20l%E2%80%99eau%20et%20de%20l%E2%80%99assainissement&fq=conseil_string%3AConseil%20municipal
De Clercq, G. (2014, July 8). Paris’s return to public water supplies makes waves beyond France. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/water-utilities-paris-idUSL6N0PE57220140708
Eau de Paris. (2019). Une enterprise publique depuis dix ans un bien commun pour toujours [Report annuel 2018]. http://www.eaudeparis.fr/uploads/tx_edpevents/EDP_RA2018.pdf
Eau de Paris.(n.d.) Accueil—Eau de Paris. Retrieved August 12, 2020, from http://www.eaudeparis.fr/
Grafton, Q., Daniell, K. A., Nauges, C., Rinaudo, J.-D., & Chan, N. W. W. (2015). Understanding and Managing Urban Water in Transition. Springer.
Le Strat, A. (2010, August 24). Paris: Local authorities regain control of water management. Transnational Institute. https://www.tni.org/en/article/paris-local-authorities-regain-control-of-water-management
Mairie De Paris. (2013). Water In Paris. A Public Service. http://www.eaudeparis.fr/uploads/tx_edpevents/Brochure_institutionnelle_ENG_2013.pdf
Sitzenfrei, R., & Rauch, W. (2014). Investigating Transitions of Centralized Water Infrastructure to Decentralized Solutions – An Integrated Approach. Procedia Engineering, 70, 1549–1557. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2014.02.171
Tabuchi, J.-P., Tassin, B., & Blatrix, C. (2016). Greater Paris Water and Global Change (Water, Megacities, and Global Change). http://eaumega.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/EN-Paris-Monograph.pdf
Transnational Institute, Kishimoto, S., & Gendall, S. (2015). Our public water future: The global experience with remunicipalisation.
World Future Council. The Remunicipalisation of Water Services in Paris, France. (2015, February 10). Futurepolicy.org. https://www.futurepolicy.org/food-and-water/remunicipalisation-of-water-services-paris/