Municipalities are responsible for providing water services in France. While ownership and responsibility is public, provision can be public or private with most municipalities contracting out services. Multiple regulators at national, regional, and local levels establish policies and standards. Principles of public services like continuity, equality, and adaptability apply. Tariffs must allow for affordable access and disconnections are prohibited. Emergency powers are conferred to respond to floods.

1. Laure-Elise Mayard
Done April 2016
For the Centre for Water
Law, Policy and Science,
University of Dundee

2.  Providers of Water Services:
 Municipalities are responsible for providing water services, as set in the law of 1790. In
2008, 36 571 municipalities were registered in metropolitan France (i.e. while Germany
only has 13 000). The responsibility of provision is public but the actual provision can be
public or private. Most of the municipalities, in distribution or in sanitation, make the
decision to join an intercommunal structure (3/4 of them, and less than half for
sanitation joint management)
 Regulators:
 While water services is dealt with by municipalities, the State retain the responsibility to
formulate the water services policies, hygiene and public safety.
 In addition to the municipal layer of regulation over water services provision, european
law is also applicable and influences the State policies and standards.
 At the national level, several ministries are involved: Ministry of Environment, Energy
and Sea (coordinating the different ministries involved) Ministry of Social Affairs and
Health, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries; Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Internal
Affairs…an estimated half of the Ministries are involved with water).

3.  Other indirect regulators:
 Regional department of environment, planning and housing (=DREALs, smooth operator in
environmental policies and their application at the regional level, also try to improve
transparency, awareness and participation over environmental issues)
 Regional department of industry, environment and research (=DRIRE, public actor under the
prefecture’s authority controlling industrial activities likely to have impacts on the environment)
 Basin Committees (=sets big objectives for the basin according to the national and european
guidelines. Gathers all the actors, private or public, of the basin.
 Water Agencies (=public administrative bodies under the supervision of ministries of environment
and finances. They collect pollution fees and redistribute the money as financial help to the
industrials, farmers etc for projects to reduce pollution, to protect and manage sustainably all
types of waters and ecosystems. Financing organs of basin policies)
 National Water Committee (=created in 1964, as a consultative body under the ministry of
environment for questions on the hydrological basins. Since 2006, it reviews and evaluates the
price and quality of water services. Has users, experts and authorities)
 National Office for water and aquatic environments (=ONEMA, public technical body for water
and aquatic environment supervised by the Ministry of Environment. Also helps to implement the
SAGE and the Water Framework Directive).
 Local Water Commission (= CLE, created by the Prefect to elaborate, revise and follow the
application of the SAGE, including also the administrative process and dispute settlement
mechanisms
 Regional Health Agencies (=implement the recommandations of the Ministry of Social Affairs and
Health and european standards of health regarding drinking water)

4.  Existing since 1992, those management plans were included
in the Water Framework Directive and establish objectives
for the following 6 years.
 Established by each Basin Committee on 3 parts:
*defines big orientations for a sustainable and balances
management of water resources *objectives of quality and
quantity for every water body in the basin *defines the
infrastructures needed to prevent deterioration, protect and
improve the status of waters and aquatic environments.

6.  Vertical integration: very high integration, where
private companies can be given the function of
operating, maintening, investing etc the water services
from abstraction to discharge.
 Horizontal disaggregation: effort to introduce
competition when delegating through the procedural
requirements of publication of a bid for the public
projects.

7.  Private sector involvement: allowed by the State and up to
the municipalities, which can contract private actors to run
the water services. The installations stay publically owned,
even with private delegation. The contract signed is
an administrative contract, giving the public authority the
asymetric ability to change unilaterally the terms of the
contract after signing, providing explanations and
compensation. Differents sorts are available:
 Direct management (no contract with a private entity)
or delegated management

8.  Delegated managements:
 Gerance (municipality finances installations and only gives
the operation to a private actor who acts under the
municipality’s orders and for its profit)
 Lease (=affermage, most common): the municipality
finances the investments while the private actor exploits
and maintains the equipments, and gets its fees from the
customer
 Concession (the delegate, private actor finances, executes
and exploites the services for the municipality). Since 1995,
contracts delegating the operation of water services to a
private entity cannot go further than 20 years, except
derogation.

10.  An estimated 76% of the population is being
distributed drinking water by private companies,
broadly 74% by affermage. The 3 big companies are
la Générale des Eaux-Vivendi-Veolia, Suez-Lyonnaise
des Eaux and SAUR.

11.  Constitutional Human Right to water:
 The Charter of the Environment was added to the
Constitution in 2004. Even if doesn’t mention water, it
gives right to a clean and healthy environment and duties
like preserving and protecting the environment, prevent
or fix damages done to the environment.
 The right to water and sanitation is also implied in
recognized constitutional rights such as the right to
housing, right to dignity, regulations of public health or
tenants protection...

12.  Human Right to water:
 It is also a right recognized by law and the Environmental
Code for example since 2006: L.210-1 « Dans le cadre des
lois et règlements ainsi que des droits antérieurement
établis, l'usage de l'eau appartient à tous et chaque
personne physique, pour son alimentation et son hygiène, a
le droit d'accéder à l'eau potable dans des conditions
économiquement acceptables par tous » = « use of water
belongs to everyone and each physical person, for its
alimentation and hygiene, has the right to access drinkable
water in conditions affordable for all »
 = 3% of household budget.

13.  Human Right to water:
 A bill is being circulated in 2015 on the effective
implementation to the human right to drinking water and
sanitation in France.
 It might contain: *an official right to water and sanitation
in French law, *for the poorest the provision of free water
« travelling people » or homeless with communal
showers, toilets and taps, *a preventive help fund for
water for those who can’t pay (=/= FSL, those spending
more than 3% of their household budget on water).

14.  Duties of supply/ service standards:
 Municipalities are mandatorily competent for drinking water
distribution and need to delimit the extent of their network of
distribution, and cannot refuse connection to it (CGCT art. L2224.7
and 2224-7-1)
 Also mandatory competent for sanitation, for collective sanitation
(i.e. buildings and their connection to the network) or non
collective (where control is required from the municipality).
(L.2224-8 CGCT)
 R.1321-2 Code of Public Health sets the standards of the waters
distributed to be fit for consumption, which the municipality has
to ensure.

15.  Principles of the public services as a whole:
 3 big principles of public services: *continuity of the
public service, *principle of equality in the face of the
public service and *adaptability of the public service.
 Transparency, accessability (to information), neutrality
and reliability (Charter of Public Services) are also
principles applied to the administration.

16.  Tariffs, Metering and Disconnections:
 Financing of the services (L2224-1,L2224-11, 2224-12-3 CGCT) by
the fees from the users, no subvention for private actors but full
recovery of costs (the principle of « water pays for water » )
 L.2224-12 CGCT, the municipality sets the price, referring to
differents factors (…)
 L2224-12 : 2 columns: one with the price of distribution (fixed part
and volum part) and one with the price of discharge (fixed price
and volum part).
 The fixed part can be used to establish a FSL (Housing Solidarity
Fund), some part of the fixed price will go to the Water Agencies
and be redistributed in investment in infrastructure and protection
of the basin. (right to assistance, Family and Social Action Code,
L115-3)

17.  Tariffs, Metering and Disconnections:
Subscription: The user can subscribe to the water supplier. A
meter belonging to the water services operator will be rented
(and maintained) to the cost of the subscriber.
There is no set frequency at which the metering is done. If the
meter cannot be read, the volume of water consumption will
be estimated on the previous consumption.
The « settlement of services » is setting the obligations
between the consumer and the supplier (private or public),
which is available from the municipality or private supplier.

18. Source: Ministère de l’Écologie, de l’Énergie, du Développement
durable et de l’Aménagement du territoire, document « les
services publics d’eau potable et d’assainissement en France », p.8
Drinking water
Wastewater
Taxes and other
fees
Average distribution
of a water bill

19.  Tariffs, Metering and Disconnections:
Disconnections of water are prohibited: by decree
27/02/2014. And it has been confirmed by the Conseil
Constitutionel (= French Supreme Court) decision of the 29th
May 2015 (n°2015-470 QPC).
A delay of 14 days after deadline for payment is accepted and a
staggering of payment can be negotiated with the provider
and finally if no payment is possible, the customer can apply
to the FSL. Finally, a procedure of recovery can happen.

20.  Emergency Powers:
 European Directive 2007/60/EC on the assessment and
management of flood risks.
 France established a map of territories with high flood risks
(=TRI). The State establishes a National Strategy of
management of flood risks (=SNGRI) and the basin level and
the prefect establish a plan of flood risk management.
27-28 February 2010: Xynthia storm

21.  Emergency Powers:
 Schapi program (=Central service of Hydrometrology and
support to flood forecast), national coverage, dependent on
the Minister of Environnement , Energy and Sea. Its
governance body is the Council of scientific and technical
orientation and support (CODOST). Any data can be accessed
by anyone on the HYDRO bank, as mainly collected by the
hydrometers in the DREALS.
 The Schapi program, DREALS and other actors are part of the
2003 VIGICRUES network (=flood vigilance) warning within
24h frame of a flood and colour-coded according to the
strength.

22.  Emergency Powers:
 From the 1st of January 2018, the competence in «aquatic
environments management and floods prevention » (=GEMAPI)
will be transfered from regional groupings (optional competence
and disparate application) to intercommunities (urban
municipalities, ensemble of municipalities, metropolises…),
mandatorily. See L.211-7 Environmental Code: basin planning,
maintenance of canals, lakes…defence against sea and floods and
the protection and restoration of wetlands + for flood prevention:
surveillance and maintenance of dams and reservoirs.
 Powers to dispose of infrastructures, of private or public
ownership and use them or avoid their destruction.
 A « tax GEMAPI » can also be created by the community to finance
the plans, with a legal ceiling.

23.  Chronological development of French law on water
services:
1790: the
municipalities are
responsible for water
services
1830: creation of
private
compagnies
concessions
1964:creation of basin
agencies, basins plans,
quality objective per
regions. « Water pays for
water » principle
1992: « common
heritage of the
Nation », SDAGE
1993: transparency,
information and prevention of
corruption. Process for PPP:
publicize and call for
competition. 20 years contract
max or exemption
1996: EDF-GDF, State
and mayors agreed on a
Charter for the right to
minimal water for the
poorest
2000: EU Water
Framework Directive,
transposed 2004.
2002: Policy reform on
transparency, solidarity,
equity and
environmental efficiency
2006: rearranges
tariffication, brings more
transparency. « right to
water » and climate
change factor

24. Source: eaufrance.fr, Gest’eau
Emerging
Instructed
Planning
Implemen
tation
Under
review

25. Ownership, Structure, Regulation
Providers Local authorities: municipalities
Regulators:
Economic
Environmental
Health
Others:
The State
Municipalities and Water Agencies
Ministry of Environment, Energy and
Sea; Basin Committees
Ministry of Social Affairs and Health
Regional department of environment,
planning and housing / Regional
department of industry, environment
and research / National Water
Committee / National Office for water
and aquatic environments / Local
Water Commission

26. Ownership, Structure, Regulation:
Vertical dis / integration Yes, local authorities contracting out a
large part of the process of water
services to the same company.
(Generally the case but could still be
divided by the local authority)
Private sector involvement
Ownership
Allowed and widespread
Always public

27. Duties and Powers
Constitutional / Human
Rights
YES,
2004 Charter of the Environment,
other constitutional rights and in legal
codes such as the Environmental
Code
Duties of supply /service
standards
continuity of the public service, equality
in the face of the public service and
adaptability of the public service.
Transparency, accessability, neutrality
and reliability

28. Duties and Powers
Tariffs, Metering and
Disconnections
« Water pays for water » full
recovery cost, fixed fees and
volum consumption fees,
« affordable price »
Disconnections are prohibited
Emergency Powers In case of floods, powers are for now to
the regional authorities. 2018, will be a
competence of local authorities
Powers will be to dispose of private or
public hydrolic infrastructures preventing
floods and raise a tax

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