Develop new water resources

To cope with this depletion, the priority is to consume with sobriety and to preserve quality freshwater resources. Efforts to reduce energy consumption can be made by all users to control their consumption, whether domestic, public, industrial, agricultural, etc. Resource management is also a multi-stakeholder approach, which requires instrumentation and management to avoid, even in the event of a shortage, lasting imbalance of ecosystems and freshwater resources, whether in quantity or quality.

These efforts at sobriety and good management are not always sufficient to avoid shortages and conflicts of use. It then becomes necessary to mobilise non-conventional fresh water or seawater, which constitute new substitute resources.

We reuse treated wastewater from municipal or industrial wastewater treatment plants through the development of complementary treatments adapted to the intended uses. Firstly, to preserve traditional water resources, we replace them with treated wastewater for uses that do not require the quality of drinking water: for example, for watering green spaces, for irrigation in agriculture, for washing roads or equipment, etc.

The mobilisation of non-conventional fresh water generally requires the implementation of dedicated structures and networks. In some countries, such as Namibia or some states in the United States, water scarcity leads to the adoption of a fully circular water cycle, in which treated wastewater is treated sufficiently to be reused as drinking water.

At the scale of the plot or the city, grey water or rainwater can also be reused.

Finally, as a last resort, we also produce drinking water by desalinating seawater. Arid countries such as those of the Persian Gulf, Australia and Israel have massively adopted desalination. Spain and Italy are also building many desalination plants, using seawater or brackish water, which is less salty. For desalination, we have been using reverse osmosis for several decades. Our developments and research programs make it possible to limit energy consumption, to associate desalination plants with the production of renewable energy, and to control the impact of discharges into the sea, and to recycle part of these discharges. Desalination therefore offers a controlled and robust alternative for producing drinking water, which can thus be conveyed by existing drinking water supply and distribution infrastructures (reservoirs, networks, etc.), or fresh water for industry. 

Rather than returning the treated wastewater to the natural environment, we give it a second life for uses as varied as agricultural irrigation, watering golf courses or gardens (regulated uses in France) or cleaning roads, recycling into process water for industry, etc.

Since the spring of 2022, the Gally farm in the Yvelines has benefited from a partnership with the Carré de Réunion wastewater treatment plant to reuse the treated wastewater from it.

To make the water clean for agricultural use, additional treatments are added to conventional processes before it is stored in the farm's retention basin. The water feeds market gardening and tree crops, it is used by drip irrigation or by a sprinkler system that creates a protective mist during spring frosts. 

With a presence across the entire value chain, we are recognised for our technical expertise, commitment to sustainability, and ability to provide you with tailored solutions.