Between September 1 and September 19, 2021, the residents of 9 municipalities in Val-de-Marne (Arcueil, Cachan, Chevilly-Larue, Fresnes, Gentilly, Ivry-sur-Seine, Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, Orly, and Vitry-sur-Seine) were invited to express their opinion on the creation of a public water authority. These municipalities had decided to leave the Syndicat des eaux d’Ile-de-France.
Taking back control of the water supply. That was the goal of these nine municipalities in Val-de-Marne gathered within the territorial public institution Grand-Orly Seine Bièvre (GOSB).
This consultation, open since July 1 via online voting, was quite successful, as 15,080 residents (according to the organizers’ count) out of the 325,000 inhabitants of the 9 municipalities took the time to give their input, representing 4.6% of the population concerned.
Previously, in 2020, users of the public water service had chosen not to rejoin the Syndicat des eaux d’Île-de-France (Sedif), which is responsible for the public water service in 135 municipalities in the Paris region. The issue of tap water management is complex, and users are aware of this. However, similar to cities like Lyon and Bordeaux, they wished to create a public water authority and regain control.
Indeed, direct management of the water service will have advantages, notably the restoration of public expertise, by elected officials, citizens, and even associations, rather than by an operator who does not reinvest all of its margins in production, transportation, or distribution tools. The regained public expertise in water concerns engineering, machinery, filtration, and distribution.
Between July 1 and September 19, contradictory debates were held, organized by the cities with advocates of direct water management, defenders of public service delegation, and private operators invited to participate. The official information campaign, meanwhile, began on September 1.
In a tweet, Fatah Aggoune, president of the preparatory authority’s board, “was struck by the engagement of the citizens, seeking information and understanding to give an informed opinion that places social justice and ecological justice on the same level.”
And the decision has been made. The nine cities in Val-de-Marne have decided to halt private management and create a public water authority.
Starting October 1, 2021, the preparatory authority will enter a shared management with Sedif on the distribution network until December 31, 2023. Then, on January 1, 2024, it will have operational teams and will be fully independent.
This transition from private to public management shows that understanding political issues is within citizens’ reach and that it’s important not to conflate them with “technical problems”. For citizens interested in the transformation of their territory and environment, you can find all public inquiries published in France and make your voice heard on the national portal Our Territory, a specialist in local public inquiries.
