Creating new water resources

As the population grows and urbanization continues, the pressure on water resources is increased. We’re addressing this by developing innovative solutions, like the artificial aquifer recharge, desalination and the reuse of waste water technology.
Challenges

Preserving our water resources

Saving water resources
Control the quantities drawn from water tables
Harnessing new resources to produce drinking water
Our innovations

Artificially recharge underground reserves to protect our water tables

More than two billion people get their drinking water form water tables. Every year, almost 1,000 km3 are drawn from them worldwide. Combined with the over-exploitation of certain water tables, our world is demanding the development of new solutions to control and recharge underground water reserves.
Fighting water shortages by replenishing the water tables

With geofiltration, SUEZ has developed a perfectly environmentally-friendly water filtration process for artificial aquifer recharging  that does not require any chemicals.

How we fight water shortages 

The town of les Palmiers in the south of France is regularly plagued by droughts and a sharp rise in demand for drinking water during the holiday season. The town’s water tables have been over-exploited and the volume of fresh water continues to decline, even dropping below sea level at times. As a consequence, salt water levels increase, mixing with the fresh water. The solution: prevent these intrusions by taking water from the Jean Natte canal in the winter, when the level of the water is high, and re-injecting it into the water table when the water level is low. Artificial recharge restores the level of the water table and avoids intrusions, keeping the water suitable all year round.

Geofiltration: an ecological purification process

SUEZ has developed an ecological geofiltration water filtration process without requiring any chemicals. Its application in the Gallardon Lake in France is one remarkable example. Water is taken from the River Seine’s alluvial groundwater, it’s then oxygenated and pumped into the lake. And it naturally moves from the lake to the water table. The transfer from an oxygenated medium to an oxygen-poor medium naturally purifies the water by eliminating almost all the harmful elements, like iron, manganese, ammonia and nitrates.

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Desalination in Australia

In Australia, SUEZ has innovated to build and operate the largest desalination plant on the continent

In Australia, the Victorian Desalination Project, located near Wonthaggi, provides a source of drinking water independent of rainfall and open storage for Melbourne and some regional communities.
Le consortium AQUASURE, qui réunit SUEZ, Thiess et Macquarie Group, a été chargé par le gouvernement de l'État de Victoria de financer, concevoir, construire, exploiter et entretenir le projet de dessalement de l'État de Victoria.

Ce partenariat public-privé (PPP) a permis de construire la plus grande usine de dessalement d'Australie et l'une des plus grandes au monde (450 000 m3/j).

La conception de cette usine minimise les impacts négatifs sur le paysage local, la flore et la faune, les communautés et le patrimoine culturel. Son toit vert vivant - le plus grand de l'hémisphère sud - relie le site au paysage côtier et contribue à limiter la visibilité des bâtiments industriels. Une réserve écologique de 225 hectares construite autour de l'usine préserve la biodiversité et offre un espace récréatif public.

La technologie d'osmose inverse de l'usine, sa conception modulaire compacte et ses nombreux dispositifs d'efficacité réduisent ses besoins énergétiques, et 100 % de sa consommation d'énergie est compensée par des certificats d'énergie renouvelable.