Analytical Framework of French Water

Services LawLaure-Elise Mayard

Done April 2016For the Centre for Water Law, Policy and Science, University of Dundee

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).

Ownership, Structure, Regulation:

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)

Ownership, Structure, Regulation:

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.

Schéma Directeur de Gestion et d’Aménagement des Eaux (SDAGE)

Basin Committees and hydrological basins:

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.

Ownership, Structure, Regulation:

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

Ownership, Structure, Regulation:

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.

Ownership, Structure, Regulation:

Ownership, Structure, Regulation:

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.

Ownership, Structure, Regulation:

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...

Duties and Powers

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.

Duties and Powers

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).

Duties and Powers

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.

Duties and Powers

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.

Duties and Powers

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)

Duties and Powers

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.

Duties and Powers

Duties and Powers

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

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.

Duties and Powers

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.

Duties and Powers

27-28 February 2010: Xynthia storm

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.

Duties and Powers

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.

Duties and Powers

Chronological development of French law on water services:

Other relevant elements

1790: the municipalities are responsible for water services

1964:creation of basin agencies, basins plans, quality objective per regions. « Water pays for water » principle

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

poorest2002: Policy reform on transparency, solidarity, equity

and environmental efficiency

Progress of the SDAGE Jan 2016

Source: eaufrance.fr, Gest’eau

Emerging

Instructed

Planning

Implementation

Under review

Ownership, Structure, RegulationProviders Local authorities: municipalities

Regulators: EconomicEnvironmental

Health

Others:

The StateMunicipalities and Water AgenciesMinistry 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

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

Duties and PowersConstitutional / 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

Duties and PowersTariffs, Metering and Disconnections

« Water pays for water » full recovery cost, fixed fees and volum consumption fees, « affordable price »

Disconnections are prohibitedEmergency 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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Vie Publique, ‘La politique de l’eau (1964-2004): Chronologie’, Novembre 2004 http://www.vie-publique.fr/politiques-publiques/politique-eau/chronologie/

Vie Publique, La politique de l’eau (1964-2004: Les services d’eau et d’assainissement’, October 2005 http://www.vie-publique.fr/politiques-publiques/politique-eau/services-eau-assainissement/

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Vie Publique, ‘La politque de l’eau (1964-2004): Les grands textes législatifs en matière de politique de l’eau’, October 2005 http://www.vie-publique.fr/politiques-publiques/politique-eau/textes-reference/

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