This is one of the main differences with gas or electricity. “There are as many water prices as there are managers, i.e. 14,000 in France,” recalls Alexandre Mayollecturer in economics at the University of Lorraine, water specialist. Public authorities. They are the ones who set the prices in their territory. “And the situations are very diverse from one to another, depending on the state of the infrastructure and/or the quality of the water,” continues the economist. For example, Bretons pay twice as much as in the South. »
All the same, an average price emerges. In France, we revolve around 4.30 euros per m³ for domestic water uses. “Drinking water and sanitation”, indicates Régis Taisne, head of the “water cycle” department at the National Federation of Granting and Governing Communities (FNCCR). Which specifies that “4.30 euros” was the average on January 1, 2022… In many municipalities, prices have increased again in 2023 and should do so again on January 1. Here again, there are averages: “+5% in recent years”, we slip to the FNCCR.
“Potentially +50% by 2030”
Overall, this rise in water prices is flying under the radar. It must be said that it has a much less impact on our purchasing power than the surges in energy prices in recent years. “Water consumption accounts for around 0.8% of household budgets,” continues Régis Taisne. The problem is that France Public Water, which represents the public water authorities, it is difficult to imagine how prices could not continue to increase in the years to come. “Potentially + 50% by 2030,” fears Christophe Lime, its president.
In part, these increases can be explained by the current surge in energy prices. “Pumping water, storing it in water towers, purifying it, transporting it to users… All of this generates significant electricity consumption and the authorities, which did not benefit from the tariff shield, have seen their bills explode,” underlines Christophe Lime.
“A wall of investments” to better protect the resource
But it is above all climate change and its consequences on the availability of water in France which raise fears of a surge in prices. The authorities have a wall of investments ahead of them, if only to reduce waste. “Leaks cause us to lose a billion m³ each year, or the annual consumption of 20 million inhabitants,” points out Alexandre Mayol. Just the modernization of existing pipes and wastewater treatment plants will require between 1 and 2 billion euros more per year, the FNCCR estimates.
At the same time, new regulations are emerging requiring additional treatment of water to better depollute it, and in particular tackling new pollutants, little or not treated today. “They are legitimate in this context where we must pay more attention to the resource,” concedes Christophe Lime. Here again, this should increase the cost of treatment by several billion euros, he warns. And even if each community is free to choose its own strategy, it will be difficult not to pass on some of it to users.
An increasing price of water, not worse?
Is this such a bad thing?, ask Alexandre Mayol and Nicolas Garnier, general delegate ofPrimer, another community union. “Water is relatively inexpensive in France,” recalls the first. In 2017, for example, the average price per m³ was 3.60 euros, compared to 4 euros on average in Europe. And we reached 6 euros in Denmark, 5 in Germany…”. Above all, the quantity of renewable water available in France decreased by 14% between the periods 1990-2001 and 2002-2018. And the situation should worsen to reach a drop of 30% to 40% by 2050, recalled the Court of Auditors mid-July. In this context, we will in any case have to reduce the quantity of water that we withdraw from our basements. “10% by the end of the five-year term”, sets the government as its first objective.
In this context, an increasing price of water is a strong lever to encourage greater sobriety, recalls Nicolas Amorce. But the balance is far from easy to find. Because if consumption falls, the revenues of network managers will do the same, reducing their capacity to invest in the modernization of installations, we report to Amorce and to France Eau Publique. Another puzzle: for which users should the price of water increase the most? “Today, 50% of water consumed in France is by agriculture, 30% by industry, and the remaining 20% for domestic uses. [ménages, commerces, entreprises du tertiaire…], begins Alexandre Mayol. However, the price per m³ is much higher for the latter. »
Rethink water pricing in France?
Everything therefore calls for a global overhaul of prices… Solutions exist. “We could very well imagine compensation bonuses for water managers who manage to reduce consumption in their territory,” continues the economist. This already exists in waste. » At France Eau Publique, we are also pushing for the establishment of a polluter/pays principle. “It would be a question of drawing inspiration from the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) sectors, which again exist in the field of waste,” explains Régis Taisne. Clearly, manufacturers of pesticides and pharmaceutical products would pay a fee which would finance the water treatment induced by their pollution. »
Above all, to this day, in the vast majority of communities, the price of a m³ of water never changes, whether we consume one, 100 or even more. Which hardly invites sobriety. It is this principle that progressive pricing changes, by increasing the price by consumption brackets. This is already the rule in force in several cities, from Dunkirk to Montpellier via Nice or Rennes. At the end of March, when presenting the Water Plan, Emmanuel Macron said he wanted to generalize this progressive pricing, at least for domestic uses.
But what about farmers and industrialists (especially nuclear power plants)? “Withdrawal fees must reflect their true weight in withdrawals and their real impact on the environment, which is not at all the case today,” argues France Eau Publique. “We need to put an end to the decreasing pricing that certain communities apply to them,” believes Régis Taisne. At Amorce, we are being more offensive by asking for progressive pricing for all users. “The mechanics are not that simple to put in place, but that’s where we have to go,” explains Nicolas Garnier.