“Take care” of the Garonne during periods of drought by adopting “a seasonal water rate”. This is the idea defended Thursday by Jean-Luc Moudenc, the mayor of the Pink City and president of Toulouse metropolis, at the opening of the COP Occitanie, the regional version of the climate summit which opens in Dubai. “Without impacting the bill paid throughout the year by users, the aim is to adjust the price to encourage consumption adapted to the season and preserve the resource: cheaper in winter, when there is no shortage of water , more expensive at the height of summer when water becomes scarce,” explains the councilor in a tweet.
If the proposal must still receive the approval of other municipalities in the metropolis, Jean-Luc Moudenc hopes to make his community “the first to innovate in this way to preserve water”.
Better than tiered pricing
This seasonal pricing is part of the recommendations on water management unveiled, also Thursday, by the Economic, Social and Environmental Council (Cese). The “wise” prefer this option to that, already tested by several municipalities, of progressive pricing, with the price of water increasing for the largest consumers. They note that this solution, in addition to being technically complicated to implement, would penalize large families in particular.