Water and drainage supply services in France are one of the few remaining public services directly run by the local parish councils.
Even here change is taking place, for much of the responsiblity is being transferred to the emerging inter-communal councils. Under government plans, by 2026 both water and drainage services will be under the tutelage of the intercommunalité.
Responsible for management of water capacity and pollution control is undertaken by six mainland statutory water agencies, as show on the graphic below.
According to the latest report from the government agency Observatoire des services publics d’eau et d’assainissement, the national average charge for water and drainage services is €4.08/m³*
That figure comprises €2.05/m³ for drinking water and €2.03/m³ for mains drainage services.
Those households who do not have mains drains (as is the case in nearly 10,000 communes) do not pay the drainage charge, although they need to pay for emptying and maintenance of their septic tank and the regular statutory inspections that are carried out.
On the basis of those charges, the average household bill for water and drainage service works out at €490 a year, or around €41 a month, using annual water consumption of 120m³.
That is a bill that has remained relatively stable over the past 5 years. Water is an inexpensive public service, although whether that will remain the case after the drought that France has experienced this year remains to be seen.
The charges are made up of a fixed and a variable part and include taxes which average 23% of the total charge.
Inevitably, prices vary across the country, due mainly to geophysical differences and population density, with the highest combined charges in Brittany (€4.82/m³) and Hauts-de-France (€4.60/m³). Charges are lowest in Provence-Alpes-Côte-D’azur (€3.58/m³) and Grand Est (€3.81/m³).
The highest charges by water basin are in Artois Picardie, averaging €4.50/m³. The lowest is Rhône Méditerranée, averaging €3.69/m³.
Nevertheless, these different charges do not necessarily reflect the bills faced by households each year, which depend on actual consumption.
Thus, although charges in Provence-Alpes-Côte-D’azur may be the lowest, households in the region pay a total bill of upwards of €600 a year. Bills are similar in the Ile-de-France. Conversely, in the Grand Est region bills average around €450 a year.
To find out the price of water and drainage services in a commune, you can go to Services d'eau France and simply type in the postal code in the box 'Données sur mon territoire.'
*2018 (latest figures)
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