Smart Water business intelligence week 10/02/2025

10 Feb. 2025

Market

The European Commission has published its Competitiveness Compass, a strategic initiative to strengthen Europe’s economic strength, sustainability and competitiveness. Building on the Draghi report, the initiative sets out key priorities to foster innovation, economic resilience and sustainability across the EU:

European commission unveils competitiveness compass with a strong focus on water resilience

Technology

Scientists at the University of Manchester have developed a new material that could help reduce water pollution caused by harmful chemicals, such as those from medicines and hygiene products, that end up in rivers and lakes:

Manchester scientists develop molecular trap to clean pollution from water

Regulation

By 2024, water-related disasters will have killed at least 8,700 people, displaced 40 million people and caused more than $550 billion in economic losses, according to The Guardian. Experts predict that 2025 could be even worse. So a climate policy that doesn’t include water is an incomplete policy:

As Water Disasters Increase, How do We Impact Climate Policy?

Financing

The UK Environment Agency, working closely with Natural England, has secured the largest commitment from water companies to clean up the environment and invest in new infrastructure since privatisation. The National Water Sector Environment Programme (WINEP) sets out more than 24,000 actions that water companies must take over the next five years to meet their statutory environmental obligations. This series of targeted interventions represents an investment of £22.1 billion in the environment, four times more than was secured in the last price review, and will deliver tangible benefits to the water system and customers:

England’s Environment Agency secures record commitments from water sector

Research

Librairy

2.05.2022

WEF Briefing paper May 2022

A Freshwater Future: Without Blue, There Is No Green Economy

In today’s challenging global context, water’s role as an enabler and impact multiplier to transition to a green economy is ever more critical.

4.01.2022

Hydreos White Paper

Water and adaptation to climate change in the "Grand Est" (French)

Water resources will be one of the main indicators of the effects of climate change in the Grand Est. HYDREOS offers a white paper in which its effects and impacts are exposed, as well as the solutions that exist to improve resilience in the face of this challenge.

8.06.2020

Water Europe Vision Implementation 2020-2027

Vision and the Strategic Innovation and Research Agenda

The present document will outline how the Vision and the Strategic Innovation and Research Agenda (SIRA) of Water Europe relate to the renewed European strategies and policies, with a strong focus on the European Green Deal, as well as the Horizon Europe Framework Program for Research and Innovation, and how the Vision ad SIRA underlying values can accelerate the transition towards a regenerative growth model that gives back to the planet more than it takes, as highlighted in the EU Circular Economy Action Plan.

6.04.2020

RMC water agency activity report 2019 (French)

Summaries of projects carried out in 2019

2019 review of the actions carried out by the RMC water agency. Great projects, but an absence of smart water to deplore.

23.03.2020

2020 UN water report

Water and climate change

The climate is changing, and our world is in danger.

Around one million animal and plant species are facing extinction. Freshwater species have suffered the greatest decline, falling by 84% since 1970. Humans are also affected: around four billion people currently experience severe physical water scarcity for at least one month per year, a situation that has been exacerbated by the climate crisis.

As the planet warms, water has become one of the main ways we experience climate change.

2.03.2020

France's international strategy for water and sanitation (2020-2030)

Report from the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs

This 2020-2030 strategy is the result of broad, inclusive and participatory consultation by all French water stakeholders. Five colleges of actors were thus mobilized: the State and its public establishments, civil society, local communities and parliamentarians, the private sector as well as institutions of higher education, research and training.

These works revolved around three phases. A diagnosis first made it possible to specify the trends, challenges and international opportunities of French cooperation, as well as to identify good practices, national and international. From this basis was developed a strategic reflection defining the priorities for action and the objectives. The third phase was devoted to determining monitoring and results indicators, as well as defining monitoring and accountability procedures. Each phase was the subject of in-depth discussions within the framework of a concertation conducted within the five colleges of actors.

5.02.2020

UE directive on the quality of water intended for human consumption

New proposal

Directive 98/83/EC set the legal framework to protect human health from the adverse effects of any contamination of water intended for human consumption by ensuring that it is wholesome and clean. This Directive should pursue the same objective and should improve access to such water for all in the Union.

25.01.2020

FP2E / BIPE report: Public water and sanitation services in France

Economic, social & environmental data

The publication of this seventh edition of the BIPE-BDO / FP2E document on public water and sanitation services takes place in a national context where the political will to boost investments was asserted during the Water Assizes and improve performance by contracting between the players. The ambition for increased service efficiency is displayed, through the generalization of blueprints and transparency on the data. The objective of achieving good status for water bodies remains a priority, and is even reinforced with the revision of the European Water Directive. Adaptations to the impacts of climate change are becoming essential today.

15.01.2020

PROSPECTIVE Water of the future - challenges and prospects for companies in the sector

Report of the Interdepartmental Pole of Forecasting and Anticipation of Economic Changes (Pipame)

The Directorate General of Companies (DGE), in collaboration with the French Water Sector (FFE) and other representatives of the sector have launched a prospective study on the challenges and prospects of future water. Conducted within the framework of the Interministerial Pole of Prospective and Anticipation of Economic Mutations (PIPAME), this study aims to shed new light on stakeholders in the water sector on possible futures through operational recommendations for improvement of their competitiveness.