Protecting water upstream: only benefits!

Since the 60s, the quality of raw water has been deteriorating in France. The causes are climate change, polluting industrial activities and intensive agricultural practices causing fairly widespread diffuse pollution. Thanks to rigorous monitoring and efficient treatment, Eau de Paris guarantees optimal quality of the water supplied to Parisians. At the same time, the public company ensures protection for the future the sources that supply Paris, the south of Île-de-France, in Burgundy, in the Centre region or in Normandy.

A more sober solution 

Today, Eau de Paris works hand in hand with 160 farmers to develop agroecology, with the financial support of the Seine-Normandy Water Agency. Avoiding pollution from the outset remains the only way to preserve water, the environment and our health in a sustainable way. It is a sober solution, which avoids having to implement additional treatments. The argument is also economic: preventing pollution costs 3 times less than treating it. Finally, it is a long-term vision: the transfer of pesticides from a field to an underground water table can take a few hours or several decades.

Promising results

This pioneering policy has concrete effects. Between 2015 and 2023, the areas cultivated using organic farming methods in catchment areas have more than quadrupled, reaching, for example, almost 30 % of the agricultural surface area of ​​the catchment area of ​​the Vanne Valley. When several farmers in a sector opt for organic farming, a reduction in pesticide concentrations in the water is observed, or is even halved in the sector with the most organic farming areas. 

A joint mobilization for water quality 

In the field, Agriculture and Territory project managers are deploying a wide range of actions to ensure that water preservation becomes a common concern in catchment areas. 

Among them, Léa Ligonnière, who works in the south of Seine-et-Marne in the Vallée du Lunain and the Nemours Region. "Through technical days, field visits, and meetings between farmers, we create a real network where everyone shares their experiences and discovers new practices," she explains. "We also encourage exchanges between farmers and other local stakeholders, such as technical structures or other water unions."

The experience is bearing fruit, as demonstrated, among other things, by the experience of Alexandre Audebert, a farmer in Egreville, who has been working with Eau de Paris since 2018 to reduce inputs. Thanks to the support offered, he has diversified his crops to break the cycle of insect pests and "bad" weeds, making it possible to limit chemical interventions. 

In addition, after the summer harvest, he sows a mixture of mustard, phacelia, forage radish and forage peas to cover the soil. This practice helps to limit the transfer of nitrates into the water table and the application of fertilizers the following spring. 

Paid services rendered to nature 

This partner is now participating in the payment system for environmental payments set up by Eau de Paris in 2020, with the support of the Seine-Normandy Water Agency. This is a first in France for a water operator. The principle? Remunerate farmers who drastically or completely reduce the use of pesticides and, as a result, take care of water and nature by implementing sustainable agricultural practices. 

Designed with and for farmers located in catchment areas and validated by the European Commission, this system is intended to be ambitious and incentivising. 115 farmers, on 17 hectares (300% of which are organic), have already committed to reducing or even eliminating the use of pesticides., to limit nitrate leaks in the fall, to adopt sustainable farming methods or to cultivate more meadows for livestock farming. 

In exchange, Eau de Paris provides them with technical advice, supports them and gives them financial backing. The relationship with Eau de Paris is very direct, underlines Carine Thierry, a farmer in the south of Seine-et-Marne. We have a single contact, it's simpler" The project is 80% financed by the Seine-Normandy Water Agency, as part of the Water and Climate territorial contract signed between the agency and Eau de Paris, for a budget of 46 million euros. 

The system is already proving its worth: in 2023, the use of 55 tonnes of active pesticide substances was avoided in the 115 farms involved, a decrease of 77% compared to conventional practices. And in a difficult national context for organic farming, it reinforces farmers in their commitment.  

Essential outlets 

The partnership with farmers does not end once the lentils and wheat are harvested. To value their efforts to protect water while ensuring a stable income, the existence of sustainable and remunerative outlets is essential. 

« We try to support them on our scale, by making the link with the food supply of the City of Paris, but also by helping them to develop local sectors and short circuits, including direct sales ", explains Nathalie Ribon, agroecological project manager at Eau de Paris. 

Participation in the financing of the first 100% organic seed cooperative in Essonne, an oat processing plant in Yonne, or financing of studies with a view to creating an alfalfa hay drying unit for a collective of farmers in Normandy: all these projects contribute to making farmers' incomes more reliable. The creation of the AgriParis Seine association, in July 2023, co-founded by 7 communities and community organizations involved in reducing the impact of food production on the environment - including Eau de Paris, also opens up new perspectives.

In September 2024, in the Lunain valley, Eau de Paris organized with the Ecotable Community, which brings together committed food professionals and partner farmers a day of meeting and a shared meal. Objective: to create links between farmers and food professionals (commercial catering and wholesalers) involved in the Ecotable community.

Long-term action  

Eau de Paris is thus continuing a long-term project that began at the end of the 19th century.^e  century by the City of Paris, which has put its skills to the service of protecting water resources, by identifying sensitive areas, carrying out developments or collecting quantity and quality data over decades.