Forum. In France, the distributed water has a quality permanent suitable for more than 97 % of the consumers. This figure is extremely encouraging. However, do not lose sight of the fact that nearly 2 million French drink a water, sometimes non-compliant, mainly in the rural areas and the mountains. In the most rural areas, the rate of non-compliance is twenty times higher than in areas more urban.
The quality of the water to the faucet is not a fact. In this context, the debates, making the reduction of the price the alpha and the omega of the management of water services are demagogic. They broadcast the perception that water is an inexhaustible resource, of equal quality on the whole territory and so could be almost free. The reality is that if the water is free in the natural environment, the services are essential to its processing, its distribution and its treatment have a cost : it is the price of quality.
Fight first a false problem : the comparative studies carried out at european level show that with an average close to 4 euros for 1 000 litres, the price of water services is rather low in France in terms of its high level of quality. In fact, the countries where water services are really cheaper have accumulated a worrying delays in the modernization of their infrastructure. This is the case of Italy in particular, where the assumption of an interruption of the supply of water for the Romans during the summer of 2017 major concerns.
Remember, then, that actors and observers skills (general Council of the environment and sustainable development (CGEDD), the French Agency for biodiversity, water agencies) prefer a price that reflects, for each service, responsible management and preserving the purchasing power of the French.
0.8% of the household budget
Today, it is the…
