Services d'eau et d'assainissement : faire tomber les limites du petit cycle

For a long time, the management of water resources (the large water cycle) and water services (the small water cycle) were the responsibility of different actors and on different scales. The small water cycle covers drinking water and wastewater networks. It is the responsibility of local elected representatives (municipalities and inter-municipalities) and is structured around the triptych of elected representatives (organiser), operator (manager) and subscribers (paying user). The State sets and monitors the application of the rules. For a long time, it contributed to financing the networks, a role that has now been entrusted to the water agencies. Initially, the issue was access to water (connection to the network). This has now shifted to the quality of resources, creating an initial bridge between the small and large water cycles: the control of diffuse pollution and the setting of discharge requirements for wastewater treatment plants are reasoned at the scale of the water body. Climate change is further accentuating quantitative tensions on a wider scale. Quantitative management is moving from a technical issue (building water access infrastructures) to a governance issue (organising the sharing of water between different uses). Against this backdrop, what are the challenges and avenues for development in France, and more specifically in the Occitanie region? Translated with DeepL.com (free version)