Creating new water resources
Preserving our water resources



Artificially recharge underground reserves to protect our 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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In Australia, SUEZ has innovated to build and operate the largest desalination plant on the continent
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.