“Water is the lifeblood of humanity. Water is a human right. But the future of water is in jeopardy”, warned the Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), António Guterres, at the opening of the United Nations Conference on Water, which was held from March 22 to 24 in New York (United States).
Forty-six years after the last conference held in Mar del Plata, Argentina, thousands of participants from around the world gathered for this “historic” conference. A crucial moment for, by 2030, “to act and meet the major challenges related to water”, according to Li Junhua, Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations. Among those present were a hundred ministers, a dozen heads of state and government, but also Philippe Rio, mayor (PCF) of Grigny (Essonne), and vice-president within the Grand Paris Sud conurbation ( GPS) in charge of the water cycle.
It is within the framework of his commitment to the United Cities and Local Governments association, “the UN of cities”, that the elected official was invited to speak at the United Nations platform but also met in person Antonio Guterres. The opportunity for the one who was designated as the best mayor in the world in 2021 to promote “the place of local authorities in water management”.
Reduction of “10% of the bill to users”
“It is one of the solutions to the crisis that we are experiencing, he is convinced. We must remunicipalize and deprivatize, to make it a universal public service. The most concrete example: the GPS water management. Launched in 2013, it provides distribution in thirteen cities in the territory, straddling Essonne and Seine-et-Marne. More than 250,000 inhabitants benefit from it.
“Last year, we were able to lower the bill to users by 10%. And this year, in the face of inflation, we only increased prices by 1% when elsewhere the increase reached 7%, summarizes Philippe Rio. As for the price of water sold to the authority, it is normally set between 0.50 and 0.88 euro by private companies. We decided that the fair price was 0.45 euros. The difference is the profit made by these companies. This saving allows us to invest in our program against water leaks. Some of our networks, such as Corbeil-Essonnes or lower Ris-Orangis are over 100 years old. Public management guarantees transparency in price and quality. It also allows for long-term management. »
An essential, but insufficient sobriety
Philippe Rio is not fooled. He knows very well that it will be difficult to oust private companies to “take water out of its commodification”. They were also represented at this conference. “We have witnessed symbolic and verbal confrontations between the private world and civil societies,” he says. Apart from the scheduled conferences, many meetings took place. You should know that, for example, the biggest Chilean fortune is in the water. It was also up to us to impose ourselves, to bring another voice to the management of this human right. Communities must be included in global decision-making processes. »
Upon his return, the mayor took care to listen to the executive’s plan announced on March 30 by President Emmanuel Macron to improve water management. The establishment of sobriety on the water, the fight against leaks or the reuse of wastewater are among the points addressed. “These measures are more like a plan-plan than a vision for the future on this crucial issue”, regrets the elected official who says he is “shocked”. “Two ministers, including Christophe Béchu, (in charge of Ecological Transition) were present in New York. The president absolutely did not echo this in his speech. Is this a denial of what was said there? Sobriety is essential, but it will not be sufficient. This is one of the messages that has nevertheless been passed. At the UN, a vision has been mapped out. It is up to us, from now on, to seize it. »
