Veolia Water covers the entire water cycle: withdrawal from the natural environment, production and distribution of drinking water and industrial water, transportation and treatment of waster water prior to recycling or release into the natural environment. Veolia Water also works upstream of the cycle to conserve water resources, and downstream to protect receiving environments.
The water cycle
Alternative water resources
Water resources are reusable but not inexhaustible
Since the beginning of the 20th century, increasing water consumption has mirrored the growth in the world's population as well as that of increased urbanization, changes in living standards and the effects of extensive agriculture.
Alongside our current water requirements, there is a need on all five continents to treat wastewater in compliance with standards on waste disposal that are increasingly taking into account environmental concerns.
Rivers, streams (surface water) or groundwater (aquifers) are the most commonly used water resources.
These traditional water resources can sometimes prove to be insufficient at a local level. Local authorities then have to resort to alternative water resources:
- wastewater recycling enables wastewater to be reused for example for agricultural or industrial use, once it has undergone an additional treatment process;
- artificial recharge of aquifers to restore or protect aquifers in the fight against their lowering water levels
Local authorities have their own specific water resource assets that they can and must manage on a long term basis.
In order to meet the requirements of local authorities, domestic customers and industrial clients in a sustainable development manner, Veolia Water provides them with unique expertise in the water cycle, based on more than 150 years of experience.
The Water Cycle
Abstract, treat, supply, collect, recycle, release into the natural environment: step by step, follow all the stages of a water service.
Complex and technological, the water cycle uses flocculation, screening or reverse osmosis... Discover all these technologies and processes.
Water for industrial and municipal clients
For municipal clients and customers
Today more than half of the world's people were living in cities. Megacities are increasing in number and in size. Some cities now have populations of over 10 million. Supplying all these people with quality water, treating their wastewater, collecting the rainwater that falls on dirty streets and roofs so that it can be treated, and monitoring the environmental impact of the consumption of all that water requires industrial expertise and resources.
Veolia Water offers public authorities its expertise, technologies, experience and its capacity to raise the necessary capital in order to help them ensure that their water is managed in a manner that satisfies the needs of the people they serve as well as those of future generations.
Veolia Water pays close attention to its customer needs on a daily basis and works to satisfy their expectations in all their diversity. The group is committed to providing its customers with a clean water supply as well as a good quality service.
For industry
Water is a key utility in industry. For example, it takes:
- approximately 35 m3 of water to make a car,
- 100 to 120 m3 of water to produce 1 ton of steel,
- 4 to 6 liters of water to produce 1 liter of beer.
Water in industry is used for multiple purposes: feed boiler houses and cooling systems, constitute products (ingredient), support reactions, clean facilities, rinse products, protect against fire, etc.
Therefore, water supply and treatment aimed at producing the quality outputs for the operation of a plant have a notable impact on its economic performance. By optimizing for its clients the production processes for the different water streams required, Veolia Water makes water a source of value creation.
Equally, Veolia Water accompanies its industrial clients in their endeavours to diversify their resources (surface water, underground water, desalinated water and recycled wastewater) in order to secure their water supply for the long term, in the best economic and environmental conditions.
Wastewater treatment
A deciding factor in the conservation of water resources
Collecting and treating municipal and industrial wastewater is a priority for Veolia Water.
It is imperative that water resources are protected and the pollution of rivers, lakes and aquifers upstream is combated. Treating wastewater is therefore a deciding factor by which the quality of the environment is maintained as well as numerous water related activities (tourism, fish farming, agriculture and industry).
Veolia Water is using its expertise to monitor, improve the reliability as well as secure the collection and treatment of wastewater until its release, once treated, back into the ecosystem.
Diagrams
Water treatment cycle
After water has been abstracted, it undergoes several types of treatment in order to make it safe to drink.
Diagrams
Wastewater treatment cycle
Advances in agriculture and industry, diminishing or the degradation of resources as well as the tightening of standards has given wastewater services a more important dimension.
Diagrams
Treatment of sludge
Veolia Water provides a range of complete and complementary solutions from treatment to recovery and reuse that can be adapted to the needs of all types of municipal authorities.