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Organization of Water Management in France |
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| THE ORGANIZATION OF PUBLIC AUTHORITIES | |||
A 1 - SIX BASIC PRINCIPLES
In France, management of surface and ground
water, considered to be a " national common heritage ",
is based on six important fundamental principles :
n The geographic reality of lage river basins must be taken into account as " water knows no administrative boundary ";
n An integrated approach to meet all water use requirements while respecting aquatic ecosystems;
n Establishing partnerships and coordinating the actions of Public Authorities and developers : this is the role of the 6 river basin committees and of the Prefects, basin coordinators. It is the purpose of Masterplans and Schemes for Water Development and Management (SDAGE and SAGE);
n Mobilizing specific financial resources is the task of the six Water Agencies. The users-polluters have to pay as " water must pay for water ";
n A multiannual planning which defines priority investments within the framework of river leasing contracts and the Water Agencies' VIth programme;
n The respect of the competence of each private or public contracting authority in its specific sphere, within the collective framework defined by law.
Thus :
The French national territory has been divided into six large " river
basins " :
A2 - SHARED MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATING
ALL USERS
Water Policy is defined by the State,
in partnership with all local Communities and users - industrialists, large
regional developers, farmers, suppliers, fishermen and fishfarmers, associations
for the protection of nature - associated at every level, with a view to organize
a global management of the resource, so as to ensure the optimal satisfaction
of all requirements, while respecting aquatic ecosystems.
Dialogue is institutionalized at three
levels :
n AT NATIONAL LEVEL :
The NATIONAL WATER COMMITTEE, chaired by a member of Parliament, is composed of representatives of the National Assembly and the Senate, and of important institutions and national federations involved.
It is consulted on the trends of the national water policy and on drafts of legislative and regulatory texts.
n AT THE LEVEL OF EACH OF THE SIX LARGE RIVER BASINS :
The RIVER BASIN COMMITTEE, chaired by a local elected official, plays a fundamental role as regards trends and incentives:
- After consulting Regional, General and Local Councils, it prepares and adopts the Masterplan for Water Development and Management (SDAGE) which fixes for each basin or group of basins, the fundamental trends for a balanced, quantitative and qualitative water management.
- SDAGEs take into account the main programmes decided by public communities and define, in a general and harmonious manner, the objectives for water quantity and quality as well as the developments and improvements to be undertaken to attain them. They define the limits of the sub-basins corresponding to hydrographic units.
The River Basin Committee is consulted by the Water Agency, set up in the river basin, on the rates and bases of water charges levied for water withdrawals and discharges. It is also consulted on the priorities for the Agency's 5-year action programmes and on the methods to aid investments and the smooth running of private and public wastewater treatment plants.
COMPOSITION OF RIVER BASIN COMMITTEES
| Representatives of River Basins | Regions | Departments | Communities | Users and specialists | Socio-professionals | State Adminis-trations | TOTAL OFMEMBERS |
| Adour-Garonne Artois-Picardy Loire-Brittany Rhine-Meuse Rhone-Mediter- ranean-Corsica Seine-Normandy |
6 3 8 3 6 7 |
18 17 28 14 28 25 |
6 5 6 5 6 6 |
30 25 42 22 40 38 |
6 2 8 3 6 7 |
18 14 22 14 21 20 |
84 66 114 61 107 103 |
n AT THE LEVEL OF TRIBUTARIES AND SUB-BASINS CORRESPONDING TO A HYDROGRAPHIC UNIT OR AN AQUIFER :
A LOCAL WATER COMMISSION can be set up to prepare and follow up the implementation of the Water Development and Management Scheme (SAGE). It is composed by one half of representatives of local communities, by one quarter of representatives of users and by one quarter of State representatives.
The Water Development and Management Scheme fixes the general objectives for the utilization, development and quantitative and qualitative protection of surface and groundwater resources, and aquatic ecosystems, as well as for the preservation of wetlands, in a manner which complies with the principles defined by law. Its area is determined by the Masterplan. When no masterplan exists, the State representative will make the decision after consulting or retaining proposals of local communities and the River Basin Committee.
When the scheme has been approved, the decisions made by administrative authorities in the field of water, and applicable to the area it defines, must be consistent or made consistent with this scheme.
The local communities involved, can associate themselves with a LOCAL WATER COMMUNITY to help attain the objectives determined by the Water Development and Management Scheme.
The " Local Water Community " can be entrusted with the study, the completion and operation of all constructions, installations or equipment of an urgent or general character, aiming at :
- developing a basin or part of a hydrographic basin,
- developing and maintaining a watercourse that is not managed by the State, including accesses,
- water supply,
- controlling stormwater and run-off,
- protecting against floods and the sea,
- controlling pollution,
- protecting and preserving surface and groundwater,
- protecting and restoring sites, aquatic ecosystems and wetlands as well as bordering woodlands,
- developing hydraulic works for civil defence.
A 3 - AUTHORIZATIONS FOR WATER WITHDRAWALS
AND DISCHARGES: WATER LAW ENFORCEMENT, A STATE RESPONSIBILITY
The Prefect of the region where the River
Basin Committee is located, manages and coordinates the State's policy as concerns
water law enforcement and water resources management. This helps maintain the
unity and coherence of State decentralized actions in this field, in the regions
and departments involved.
The Prefect/basin coordinator has the
necessary means at his disposal, especially as regards management in time of
crisis.
Whether it be for surface or groundwater,
the decentralized, departmental or regional State administrations - Regional
Directorates of Industry and Research (DRIRE), Departmental Directorates of
Agriculture and Public Works (DDAF and DDE) - examine, within their respective
responsibilities, the applications for :
The installations, constructions or activities
that can be dangerous for health and safety, have serious impacts on water resources
and aquatic ecosystems, are harmful to the free flow of water, or increase the
risk of flooding, are subject to administrative authorization.
Other installations, constructions or
activities showing no such signs of danger are, however, subject to declaration.
Authorization is given after a public
inquiry and, in some cases, for a limited period.
The authorization can be cancelled or
modified, without compensation :
Installations subject to authorization
or declaration for the withdrawal of surface water or discharges and for the
pumping of groundwater, must be fitted with appropriate systems for measurement
or assessment. Their operators or owners are obliged to install and verify the
perfect operation of the system, store the corresponding data which should remain
at the disposal of the administrative authority.
The administration can take the necessary
steps for limiting or temporarily suspending water use, when it is confronted
with a threat or with the consequences of accidents, drought, floods or indeed
the risk of water scarcity.
When necessary, specific measures can
be taken in highly sensitive areas and also in areas where the resource is particularly
protected.
In case of accidents presenting a danger
to civil safety, water quality, supply or conservation, the administration can
force the authorities in charge to take measures and, if they do not comply,
can intervene, when necessary, at the expense of the authorities concerned.
A 4 - THE " POLLUTER-PAYS "
PRINCIPLE AND WATER AGENCIES
n Twenty five years of experience
Within
the framework of the Water Law of 1964, a " WATER AGENCY "
was set up in each of the six river basins as an administrative public establishment
endowed with a civil status and financial autonomy.
The aim of these agencies is to facilitate the various actions of common interest
to the basin... in order to reach a balance between water resources and requirements;
to attain the quality objectives determined by regulations, to improve and increase
the resources, as well as to control floods.
The scope of action covers surface water, groundwater and territorial waters
in the sea.
n
Organization
and functions :
The Agency is managed by a Board of Directors
composed of 8 representatives from local communities, 8 representatives from
the various categories of users, 8 representatives from the State, and 1 representative
of the Agency staff.
The Chairman of the Board of Directors
and the Director of the Agency are appointed by the Government.
Their means of action are :
n
Financial
means for action :
The Agencies' resources are founded on
the application of the " user-polluter-pays " principle.
This led them to levy water charges on withdrawals and discharges from all users
who affect water quality and modify water regime.
For industrialists, the charges are calculated
by using various parameters appropriate to each branch, and the amount of pollution
produced by each establishment.
For domestic uses, it is calculated for
each community according to both permanent and seasonal populations and is collected
from the user together with the payment of an invoice for water measured by
a flow meter.
The rates applied for calculating charges
are determined for each Agency with the agreement of the River Basin Committee,
in order to balance priority action programmes. They are geographically modulated,
according to priorities and to the quality objectives defined by the River Basin
Committee.
n The Water Agencies' VIth Action programme (1992 - 1996)
The main objectives that have been assigned
to this programme amount to an investment of about 81 billion francs over five
years:
1992 - 1996
TRENDS OF THE WATER AGENCIES SIXTH
PROGRAMME
Millions of FF
| Estimated Financial Commitment | Costs of Works | Agencies Corresponding Aid (1) |
| ADOUR-GARONNE ............... ARTOIS-PICARDY ................ LOIRE-BRITTANY ................ RHINE-MEUSE ...................... RHONE-MEDITERRANEAN- CORSICA ............................. SEINE-NORMANDY .............. |
9,065 6,835 13,750 7,527 14,840 28,960 |
3,220 2,440 5,200 3,011 5,993 15,109 |
| GRAND TOTAL ................. | 80.900 | 34.973 |
1) Excluding treatment
bonuses for local communities, running costs and expenditure for actions support.
Millions of FF
| PRIORITY THEMES | FIFTH PROGRAMME | SIXTH PROGRAMME |
| works cost | ||
Sanitation of communities Industrial pollution control Improvement of agricultural Potable water supply Improvement of the resource Natural media GRAND TOTAL |
22,800 6,400 - 9,600 4,000 1,000 43,800 |
43,100 10,800 3,600 14,940 6,050 2,400 80,900 |
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