Business Overview 2009 (pdf - 6.8MB) - Veolia Water

Our achievements /
Water resource
management and protection
Veolia Water manages
all water cycles and in 2009
we offered public
authorities, industrial
companies and consumers
alike our expertise to
address major concerns
like reducing pressure on
water resources, optimizing
network efficiency, ensuring
the quality of water bodies
and developing the use
of alternative resources.
Water resource management and preservation
is our top priority
The principal way of reducing pressure on water resources is to
combat wastage. To save water and thereby reduce freshwater
withdrawals, we have made reducing leakage from water
supply networks one of our priorities and we are constantly
increasing our expertise in this area. In the EU’s first 15 member
states, we have committed to maintaining an average network
efficiency rate of over 80%. In 2009, in France, most new
(Royan, Chaumont) or renewed contracts (La Roche-sur-Yon)
now include innovative policies. These include investment
in the isolation of network sections and remote management
to monitor distributed volumes; use of remote meter reading
technologies through our subsidiary HomeRider; and leakage
detection solutions (see Focus on page 31).
We also offer our clients services in the management of water
supply network assets. First, we consult with the public
authorities in order to ascertain their investment choices and
performance objectives (network efficiency levels, number of
service interruptions, etc.). Then, we use decision aids: a shortterm
device designed to calculate the breakage risk of each of
the network’s pipes and a long-term device that simulates
investment programs so that performance targets can be met.
As an indispensable complement to these measures we are
also developing ways of raising consumer awareness of the
issues (see page 38).
The ability to cater for the complex issues
faced by our clients
Our industrial clients also have to comply with environmental
regulations that require them to limit their water withdrawals
from natural resources. Veolia Water offers solutions to ensure
their water supply, combining productivity, energy savings
and reduction of water withdrawals. Given our personnel’s
technological expertise and professionalism we can provide
solutions for the most complex issues. For example, in China,
steelmaker Capital Steel chose us because we can provide
it with a supply of decarbonated water, thus reducing the
consumption of its cooling circuits (Actiflo Softening® Process).
We work with over 450 industrial companies and adapt to the
specificities of each industry, for example the solar power
industry in France (see page 32). In Europe, the huge success
with clients in the oil and power industries of our Aquamove
mobile emergency water treatment units in 2009 reflects how
well our skills matched their requirements. This service by our
subsidiary Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies enables the
supply of the necessary quantity and quality of water on an
industrial site that cannot afford to halt its production line.
A partner for all wastewater projects
A large share of the world’s population has no access to a
wastewater collection or treatment system. The health
hazard this represents has lead to the mobilization of a
growing number of our public authority clients. We already
30 Veolia Water 2009