Veolia in push to 'de-hydrate' world economy[fr][de] 

"The first reason for scarcity is linked to urban growth and withdrawal of water from nature," Frérot said. "So, the first way will be to 'de-hydrate' our economy and our way of life by fighting against waste of water and by mobilising alternative resources like waste water." 

However, he underlined that one should consider whether "we need to consume less or to withdraw less water from nature" and whether "the economic equation of water management" needs changing.  

While better health was the first goal of modern water management systems, environmental protection and sustainability issues related to water management have risen further up the political agenda in recent years. 

"If we now need, on the one hand, to maintain or increase consumption for health reasons, and on the other hand, to reduce consumption because of environmental reasons and protection, we must find a way to make these two objectives - the old one and the new one - compatible technically and economically," Frérot explained. 

According to Frérot, the first step towards making these aims compatible is "to apply completely" the EU's Water Framework Directive, "which says that all the beneficiaries of good water policy need to contribute to its financing proportionally to its benefits". 

The financing of water systems and services would need to be shared between consumers and probably taxpayers, he added.

The Water Framework Directive, which entered into force in 2000, requires member states to impose a water-pricing policy by 2010 to encourage consumers to use water resources more efficiently. 

Other steps include "basing the financing and pricing of water management and services on performance-efficiency indicators of water usage" and disconnecting water withdrawal from consumption, Frérot continued. "For example, if we reuse water, there is consumption of water, of potable water, but no withdrawal, so probably we need to pay more when we withdraw water than when we just consume it," he said.  

Private companies are already providing the industrial and agricultural sectors with technologies to enable them to reduce their water use. "When an industry uses a lot of water for 'poor' uses, like cleaning, then of course recycling waste water is the first way forward," he said. 

But in unique scarcity situations, like refineries, which use a lot of water in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, California and Australia, and when industry is forced by law to drastically reduce its water withdrawal, "we can also propose solutions to industries which allow them to recycle the totality of the water they use," Frérot underlined.

While water constraints are not as significant in the EU as in the afore-mentioned countries, Frérot believes European companies and farmers will also be incited to reduce their withdrawal and change their habits "little by little".

Governance is key to water management for all stakeholders, and water inefficiency is "more immoral than anything else," "because it is wrong to leave people without access to water when there are solutions," he concluded.

To read the interview in full, please click here.