Dürre: “We will have to compensate for our delay in waste water recycling,” explains Veolia

Using wastewater to irrigate fields, operate factories and even produce drinking water: that is the principle of “wastewater recycling”, which consists in injecting dirty water back into the traditional water circuit thanks to a special treatment. An effective technology to deal with the drought that should prevail in France in the years to come, defends on Tuesday August 2 on franceinfo Pierre Ribaute, General Manager of Veolia Eau France. “Less than 1% of wastewater is currently treated for reuse”he explains. “It’s 8% in Italy, 15% in Spain… We have to make up for our delay.”

In any case, according to Pierre Ribaute, climate change will force France to make efforts: “Our country has a temperate climate that will develop into a semi-arid climate. As in Israel, Malta, Italy or Spain, countries where the lack of water has led to the recycling of waste water. So far we have not been the water scarcity in France, but this situation is definitely changing”he emphasizes while making sure there is a real one “expertise” for decades and sufficient technologies to multiply reliable large-scale water recycling projects. In contrast, “Regulations must evolve in France”he believes.

Among the current projects aimed at democratizing the transformation of waste water into drinking water: that of Vendée Eau, which intends to use water from the Sables d’Olonne treatment plant to ensure the consumption of 200,000 residents. “90% of the water in the Vendée comes from rivers… However, due to the drought, they can no longer meet the demand. We are therefore convinced that this type of project will multiply.”concludes Pierre Ribaute.