IOWater - International News

Europe - France 48 The News N° 29 - February 2019 Guadeloupe Partnership Convention with the Guadeloupe Water Office The Guadeloupe Water Office is a public body that guarantees the preservation of water resources and the satisfaction of user needs. To achieve its multi-annual intervention programme for 2019-2024, presented on 1 October 2018, requires stepping up efforts on training, awareness-raising and support for basin contractors. Considering IOWater’s proven expertise on the entire water cycle, the Guadeloupe Water Office signed a partnership convention on 21 November, entrusting IOWater with organising training sessions from 2018 to 2021 to perfect and professionalise agents. Events and information seminars will also be organised for users and elected representa- tives. 4 Signature of the convention IRSTEA Pilot network to detect leaks made available for applied research IRSTEA (Research Institute on Science and Technologies for the Environment and Agriculture) is carrying out research in the domains of heritage management and loss from water supply networks as part of a research project entitled ROC (oriented renewal of pipelines). To contribute to the project, in 2018 and 2019 the International Office for Water is making its experimental leak-detecting network in Limoges available to IRSTEA. The IRSTEA team on heritage manage- ment of water-related facilities will initially be trained to operate this pedagogical and testing platform. Then, following the installation of addi- tional equipment to respond to research requirements, the platform will be used to study the effectiveness of action to reduce losses from water supply networks and, more particularly, the connection between service pressure and leak flow rates. 4 IOWater’s leak-detection network TRAINING AT IOWATER New requirements for local authorities! As part of the “Plan Eau Dom” water plan, local authorities in French overseas territo- ries competent in water supply and sanitation management must sign a progress contract before 31 December 2018. This requirement was set out by the ministers for the ecolo­ gical transition and the overseas territories in a technical note addressed to Prefects on 30 July. In the absence of such a contract, investment credits from the state will be stopped. Partners of the regional conference of water stakeholders (region, department, single au- thority ARS, AFB, AFD, CDC, etc.) are invited to apply the same rule. The conference, which must take place at least twice a year, is required to establish a strategic document setting out the criteria for selecting authorities applying for support. Commitment to this progress contract must at least translate into a deliberation on support for this strategic document. In this context, IOWater worked with Ernst and Young to help the Guadeloupe Office for Water (ODE) update its multi-annual inter- vention plan (PPI) 2019-2024, validated last November. This intervention plan takes into account the degraded situation of water and sanitation on the island and anticipates exceptional measures of support from ODE to EPCIs in Guadeloupe, in cooperation and close coor- dination with the regional water stakeholder conference. To this end, IOWater works for the ODE as a special training partner. 4