Water prices will rise to pay costs of repairing leaks
Water prices are set to rise after the government called on authorities to upgrade and repair networks as “one litre of water in five is lost to leaks”.
The network needs up to €2billion a year extra spending on it, with a cost to households of about 10% extra – or €3.30 per month for the average family, the Fédération des Entreprises de l’Eau said
With 700billion litres of water lost before reaching consumers, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has offered special aid of €100million to help small communes fund work.
Hénon (Côtes-d’Armor) faces work on 90km of pipes for just 1,000 households. Replacing 3km of pipes costs €800,000.
After a year-long consultation in the Assises de l’Eau, Mr Philippe said more investment was vital and setting social tariffs via a chèque eau for less well-off households had shown it could increase funding.
This will be funded by local water authorities but will be compensated by a reduction in the numbers of non-payers.
Local authorities have shied away from raising water prices but this led to just 0.6% of pipes being replaced each year, which means work would take more than 100 years - and pipework has a 60-year lifespan.
An extra €5billion will be invested over five years to double mains renewals rates while €2billion in low-cost loans will be offered at the Caisse des Dépôts.
The Assises de l’Eau said 99.4% of people had a quality water supply 95% of the time with a cost on average of €4.07/m3. Prices range from €4.72/m3 in Brittany to €3.52/m3 in Paca.
