Saint-Martin Receives €350,000 Boost for Water & Sanitation Improvements
A €350,000 grant agreement was signed on October 1st to bolster the Saint-Martin Establishment of Water and Sanitation (EEASM) and its efforts to enhance water and sanitation management across the territory. The funding, provided by the Overseas Fund (FOM), aims to strengthen the EEASM’s operational capacity and ensure timely project implementation as part of a broader strategy to improve public services.
EEASM Director Alain Cyrille emphasized the critical importance of water access, stating the institution’s commitment to providing quality water throughout Saint-Martin.
The subsidy will finance crucial technical engineering services focused on priority projects, including securing and ensuring the compliance of existing infrastructure, creating or rehabilitating water storage tanks, and installing leak detection technology to reduce water loss.Further investments will focus on implementing overpressure equipment to improve distribution, expanding the collective sanitation network in densely populated areas, preventing wastewater spills, and conducting comprehensive diagnostics of existing networks.
This engineering support will also strengthen the EEASM’s technical, administrative, and financial teams, enabling optimal project oversight from design through completion. Officials anticipate this will enhance Saint-Martin’s resilience to climate and environmental challenges.
The grant is part of a continuing partnership between EEASM, the French development Agency (AFD), and the State. Since 2017, multiple agreements have been established to support engineering and the financing of key infrastructure projects, particularly in sanitation. The EEASM has received a total of €1.45 million in subsidies from the Overseas Fund as 2023, including a grant signed earlier in 2025 specifically dedicated to engineering for a new drinking water production plant, a project estimated at €1.2 million with anticipated start date in 2026/2027 and a completion timeframe of 20-24 months.
The signing ceremony was attended by Raphaël Sanchez, President; gilles Chausse, Director of AFD; Bernadette Davis, Second Vice-President of the community; and Fabrice Thibier, Secretary General of the Prefecture.
