The water treatment market in France

The water treatment market in France covers all the activities involved in collecting, distributing, using, treating and discharging or reusing water, whether drinking water or wastewater. It is based on a hybrid and structured organization, marked by a division of roles between public and private players, depending on the size and technical nature of the infrastructure. By 2021, private companies were managing 54% of wastewater treatment capacity, while the smallest plants remained largely under public management. This logic of specialization according to technical capacity reflects the complexity of the French water network, which is based on a dense, heterogeneous network of facilities.

At the same time, local governance has undergone significant change, driven by the laws of decentralization and the desire to pool resources. Today, public establishments for inter-municipal cooperation (EPCI) are responsible for almost half of the organization of drinking water services. water services (49%) and nearly two-thirds of collective wastewater services (63%), overtaking the communes and syndicates in their management role. This rise in importance reflects a rationalization of competencies and a better allocation of resources on the scale of consumption and treatment basins. This model is based on a highly technical sector, where almost 80% of jobs are concentrated in technical or operating functions, compared with less than 12% in support functions and barely 8% in commercial activities. This illustrates the predominance of operational know-how in water management.

In economic terms, the market remains relatively stable, but is evolving against a backdrop of strong environmental and social pressure. On the one hand, the proportion of French people fearing a water shortage has jumped from 49% in 2013 to an unprecedented 71% in 2023, and has fallen back slightly to 62% in 2024. This trend reflects a deep-rooted concern in public opinion, fuelled by increasing droughts and global warming, which are making available water resources more fragile. On the other hand, spending on water pollution control is rising steadily, increasing by 11.7% between 2016 and 2022, to €16.2 billion. However, these investments remain concentrated on curative actions: 87% of amounts are dedicated to wastewater treatment, compared with just 7% for pollution prevention and 6% for soil remediation, illustrating a structural lag in preventive strategy.

Finally, the sector's business model is largely based on operating costs. In 2022, 79% of the total water price paid by users came from direct service costs, including 41% for collective wastewater treatment and 38% for drinking water distribution, while taxes and fees accounted for just 21%. This imbalance underlines the central role of operating expenses and the need for sustainable investment in infrastructure, at a time when active water catchments have decreased by 27% between 1980 and 2024, due to pollution and deterioration in the quality of resources. All these dynamics are forcing the water market to make an accelerated transition towards greater circularity, efficiency and resilience.