Veolia wraps up national campaign to detect PFAS in French drinking water
Veolia concludes its nation-wide testing campaign, launched in November 2023, to assess the levels of the 20 regulated PFAS in drinking water in France, using the quality thresholds in force.
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This campaign was carried out in anticipation of the health authorities' requirement to include these parameters systematically in the routine tests from 2026 onwards.
More than 2,400 drinking water supply points managed by Veolia, covering more than 20 million inhabitants, were analyzed. As a result of this campaign, Veolia can certify that over 99% of its drinking water outlets comply with PFAS standards. In the few cases where quality limits were exceeded, Veolia played its part by supporting the local authorities in informing users about the quality of the water supplied, and in the action plan to restore the situation to normal.
In a context where 97% of French consider health to be the priority issue in local decisions regarding water, Veolia has the largest technology portfolio on the market to effectively treat all types of pollution in drinking water, including micropollutants such as PFAS. The Group, with its proven feedback in many countries, particularly in the United States, relies on its industrial know-how and continuous innovation capacity to develop advanced filtration systems.
In France, Veolia has decided to invest in an advanced mobile intervention device that has more than 30 units including 25 mobile treatment units and 6 mobile labs, which, where applicable, define the best type of treatment media for the detected micropollutants (such as activated carbon), to determine its quantity and the frequency of necessary filter replacement, as well as the associated cost.
For pollution requiring a more sophisticated and longer to implement treatment, such as nanofiltration or reverse osmosis processes, the group proposes a multi-stage action plan to remedy the problem without too much delay. This approach enables Veolia to offer local authorities an optimal solution from both an economic and a technological point of view to guarantee high-quality water to users.
"The results we have published encourage us to intensify our efforts in the fight against emerging pollutants such as PFA," says Estelle Brachlianoff, CEO of Veolia. "As a pioneer in the treatment of water pollution, Veolia draws on its global expertise and innovation to offer solutions tailored to each region, both economically and technologically. This makes it possible to provide solutions that offer the best value for money, in order to protect the health of citizens and their purchasing power.”
"Our aim is to help our customers meet the challenge of drinking water quality by providing them, drawing on the strength of our technology portfolio and our expertise, with a range of solutions that can be adapted to each situation, taking account of local specificities and economic constraints. We use cutting-edge processes such as activated carbon and nanofiltration, as well as low-pressure reverse osmosis, while continuing to innovate and develop new treatment methods to anticipate future quality standards,” adds Pierre Ribaute, CEO of France Water Zone.
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