Water is a renewable and reusable resource but it is 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 resources can sometimes prove to be insufficient at a local level. Local authorities then have to resort to alternative resources:

• wastewater recycling enables wastewater to be reused for example for agricultural or industrial use, once it has undergone an additional treatment process;

• seawater desalination;

• 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 consumers and industrial customers in a sustainable development manner, Veolia Water provides them with unique expertise in the water cycle, based on more than 150 years of experience.

For municipal clients and consumers

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.

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.

With towns and cities continuing to grow and the number of wastewater treatment plants increasing, the amount of sludge being produced in the world is also increasing. Veolia Water provides multi-process solutions by choosing the processes best suited for the end use of the sludge.