We are pleased to announce that the new public water operator of the French city of Montpellier has joined Aqua Publica Europea as a new member. The operator was created in April 2015, after the city representatives decided to put the management of water back into public hands. The Régie des eaux de Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole began to operate on the 1st of January 2016. It provides 25 million m3 per year to 350 000 people.

In the coming years, the operator’s working plan will be based on the principle of transparent management and on the objectives of establishing of a system to guarantee the right to water, investing €157 million by 2030 to improve the quality of the service and of protecting water resources. The new operator also pays particular attention to the inclusion of different stakeholders in its decision-making. Thus, four representatives of environmental and user associations sit on its Board of Directors.

With the membership of Régie des eaux de Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole, Aqua Publica Europea has now 54 members from 9 European countries, which together provide water and sanitation services to more than 70 million users.