Veolia Water

Veolia Water (formerly Vivendi Water, originally Compagnie Générale des Eaux) is the water division of the French company Veolia Environnement and a major supplier of water services.^[2]

On December 14, 1853, the creation of the Compagnie Générale des Eaux was authorized by imperial decree as a public limited company with a capital of 20 million.^[3]

In 1889, its first research laboratory was established at 52, rue d’Anjou in Paris, France. Veolia Water’s headquarters are still located at this site.

1918 saw the creation of the SADE (Société Auxiliaire des Distributions d'Eau), specializing in water networks and the delivery of drinking water. In 1953, construction began on a CGE water treatment facility at Clay Lane, near London; by 2001, it one of the world’s largest ultrafiltration plants, supplying water to 750,000 people in the city.

Veolia Water established the Waterforce emergency response team in 1998, prompted by Hurricane Mitch in Nicaragua and the flooding of the Yangtze River in China.

In 1980, CGE expanded into other businesses such as transport and energy services by acquiring other companies. The original CGE water industry remained as the water division of CGE. In 1998, CGE was renamed Vivendi, and in 1999, the environmental divisions of CGE was consolidated under Vivendi Environnement, with the water division renamed Vivendi Water in 1999.^[4] In 2003, Vivendi Environnement was renamed Veolia Environnement.^[5] Two years later in 2005, Veolia Environnement united its four global divisions (Environmental Services, Energy, Transport and Water) under the Veolia brand. Vivendi Water thus was renamed Veolia Water.^[6]

In 2002, Vivendi Water began providing municipal water services in 2002 to major cities such as Indianapolis (USA), Bucharest (Romania), Berlin (Germany) and Shanghai (China).

The UK water supply businesses branded as Veolia Water were sold by Veolia Environnement for £1.2 billion on 28 June 2012 to Rift Acquisitions, an entity established by Morgan Stanley and M&G Investments. Veolia Environnement is using the proceeds of the disposal to reduce its debt, as part of a 5bn-euro debt-reduction programme announced in December 2011 and will retain a 10% stake in the new business Affinity Water for at least five years.^[7][8] Affinity Water began operations on 1 October 2012.

Veolia offers comprehensive water treatment and management across diverse industries. Veolia's core focus is to optimize water usage, minimize environmental impact, and guarantee water quality for both industrial and municipal clients. Veolia solutions include advanced technologies & equipment such as membranes, filtration systems, evaporators, chemical treatment solutions, quality monitoring and lab equipment. Veolia offers:

• Industrial Water Solutions:
  • Industrial water and wastewater treatment
  • Process water treatment for various sectors (food & beverage, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, oil & gas, power generation)
  • Desalination
  • Water reuse and recycling
  • Mobile water and integrated services
• Municipal Water Solutions:
  • Municipal water and wastewater treatment
  • Operation and maintenance of water systems
  • Waste to energy solutions
  • Water reuse and recycling
  • Mobile water and integrated services
• Healthcare and Life Sciences
  • Lab water treatment
  • Quality monitoring and control Instrumentation

Veolia Water works on initiatives related to reducing the environmental impact of water use through a number of strategies.

• Saving water: reducing leaks in the system and managing consumption through systems such as water meters.
• Protecting water resources: treating wastewater and preventing pollution, for example by avoiding discharge into aquifers.
• Limiting the environmental impact of energy use: optimizing facilities, exploring water as a source of renewable energy. Veolia Water Solutions and Technologies has begun a "carbon initiative" to analyze the sources of customers' emissions and offer lower-carbon water treatment solutions.
• Developing alternative resources: recycling treated water, recharging aquifers, desalinating seawater.[citation needed]
• In 2024, Veolia launched its new 2024-2027 strategic Green Up program aimed at boosting growth in local energy and bioenergies, water technologies and new solutions, and hazardous waste treatment.
  • Decarbonize, depollute and regenerate, Veolia’s GreenUp sets specific ecological objectives, aimed at making Veolia the champion of decarbonization, depollution and regeneration of natural resources. From eliminating 18 million metric tons of CO2 from its customers' carbon footprints by 2027 to treating 10 million metric tons of hazardous waste, Veolia's ambitions are measured not just in euros, but in tangible ecological impact.
  • Veolia will invest €2 billion to support these growth boosters, doubling its investments to €200 million dedicated to industrial pilots and the acquisition of new technologies. These parameters, will attribute to a 70% increase of revenue growth will be generated with boosters.

In 2008, Veolia Water established Grameen-Veolia Water Ltd in partnership with the Grameen Bank, with the stated goal of providing drinking water to up to 100,000 people in Bangladesh.

Veolia Water’s subsidiaries include:

• SADE, which to builds and maintains water mains and water networks for delivering and distributing drinking water, and processing waste water.
• Veolia Water Solutions and Technologies provides services to both local authorities and private industry, aiming to help them to reduce their environmental impact. In 2007 a joint venture between Doshion Limited (A Water Solutions Giant in Gujarat, India) and Veolia Water Solutions and Technologies was signed, thus gave formation to Doshion Veolia Water Solutions.^[9] This turned out to not bring any benefits to Veolia's investors and the company's services.
• Two engineering advisory agencies: Seureca (international) and Setude (France-focused). These agencies specialize in water management, water treatment and the environment.
• Krüger A/S, Denmark (Annual revenue €177,000,000 (2008))^[10][11]

Veolia Water also has joint subsidiaries with other Veolia divisions. With Dalkia, it has Proxiserve. This subsidiary provides home-based services related to heating and water distribution systems. With Veolia Environmental Services, it has SEDE Environnement (management of waste sludge) and SIDEF (Services to Industry for the Treatment of Effluent).^[12]

• In FY2024, Veolia Water Tech segment achieved revenues of €4.97bn (41% North America, 25% Europe, 13% Asia Pacific, 13% Africa Middle-East and 8% Latin America) and EBITDA of €612M. The business serves over 8,000 clients in 44 countries, with 38 technological sites and 11 dedicated R&I laboratories.
• Veolia Water Tech activities include both Veolia WT, 100% owned and Water Technologies and Solutions “WTS” subsidiary

• Veolia Water website