Efficient and Responsible Management

Thanks to their professional efficiency and their organizational structure, private water operating companies, such as Veolia Water, help to create a better quality public service.

Of major importance for the specialist operating company is looking after resources. For example, one of its priorities is aimed at reducing leakage from the water supply system which, in some countries, is close to 50%. In fact, often half the drinking water that is produced is lost due to the bad state of the water mains through which it circulates.

Improving the efficiency of the water supply system also facilitates access to water for the poorest. With the same volume of available water and with no need to resort to further investment, good management of the water system enables the supply of drinking water to be improved to the outskirts where, most often, the most disadvantaged live.

A water operating company for 150 years, Veolia Water uses performance indicator systems to assist local authorities and customers of its water services in assessing the quality of the service provided. These indicators focus on aspects of the service such as continuity of service, water quality, resource conservation and management, asset management, customer services, access to water for those who previously did not have access to the service and the water management system.

In addition, its management system enables Veolia Water to measure the quality of its business activities as well as its environmental performance. Efficiently managed water services produce savings which can lead to a lowering of prices.

In the Netherlands in 2002 Veolia Water was chosen to design, build, finance and operate the country's main wastewater treatment plant near The Hague. In order to maximize quality and reduce costs, a call for tender asked all those submitting a tender to set a price that was 10% lower than that set by the public management team of the project. In the end, an overall saving of 17% was achieved.

Technical advances as well as research and development programs carried out by Veolia Water - thanks to its network of 300 researchers - enable it to find future water solutions and for its sustainable management.

These research programs have enabled it to develop reliable solutions when it comes to alternative resources such as recycling wastewater in order to prioritize the water that is available for the water supply system. In Durban in South Africa the reuse of wastewater for industrial purposes has freed up 8% of the available water to meet basic requirements.