Every year in France, 1.3 billion cubic meters of drinking water are wasted unnecessarily due to leaking pipes
The magazine 60 Millions de Consommateurs and the France Liberties Foundation (chaired by Danielle Mitterrand) launched last March the “transparency operation” to raise public awareness about water waste. On the occasion of World Water Day held on March 22, a call to users and elected officials was made in the form of a collaborative survey to highlight the prices of public water services. While the price of water is expected to drop by 8% in Paris starting July 1, the capital remains an exception. That is why users were invited to connect to www.prixdeleau.com to indicate the amount of their water bill and help establish a national average of prices charged throughout the country.
The price increase is undoubtedly linked to the immense waste of drinking water each year in France, estimated at one billion three hundred million cubic meters, due to leaks in collective pipelines. The Grenelle II Environmental Law indeed provides for control by each municipality, which must check the compliance and risks related to installations to minimize water waste, an inventory scheduled for the end of 2013 but whose implementing text is currently announced for the end of summer…
As part of the “transparency operation” on water, public opinion is made aware of this environmental scourge through the YouTube animation “Every 5 seconds, 190,000 liters of water are wasted. React!”.
During this drought period, very likely linked to the phenomenon of global warming, it is essential that every consumer becomes aware of water waste and is vigilant about their own consumption. While waiting for public authorities to take up the issue and work to ensure that the drinking water transport network stops leaking at truly catastrophic levels.