OiEau's Solutions & Know-how: Independent Advice & Expertise

Faced with rapidly changing environmental and regulatory challenges, water management today requires a detailed understanding of the environment, enhanced organisational capacity and a shared strategic vision. OiEau meets these needs with a comprehensive approach tailored to each region, combining analysis, operational support and data structuring to enable stakeholders to implement ambitious and sustainable policies. The complementarity of its expertise enables it to intervene at every stage: diagnosis, planning, technical optimisation, consultation, tool design and information system consolidation.

In a context of water, energy and climate transition, water management stakeholders are faced with increasing complexity. The effects of climate change are putting greater pressure on resources, while regulations are becoming more demanding and social acceptability is increasingly complex. The need for stronger governance, the rise of innovative technologies, changing uses and the fragility of certain infrastructures now require a structured, rigorous and forward-looking approach.

These transformations require a thorough understanding of contexts, risks and practices in order to ensure sustainable and consistent management. They also call for appropriate tools to inform decisions, facilitate knowledge sharing and ensure consistency between users and decision-makers. In this constantly changing landscape, OiEau provides a comprehensive vision and support capable of articulating environmental issues, regulatory constraints, technical realities and the capacity for action of local authorities.

OiEau's missions cover all aspects necessary for sustainable and efficient water governance, both in France and internationally. The association supports decision-makers in developing strategic visions, building management plans and planning public policies based on a reliable understanding of environments and uses. This intervention is part of an approach based on Integrated Water Resources Management(IWRM) and consultation with economic actors, users and institutional partners, enabling a shared understanding of the issues and harmonised implementation of actions. OiEau also strengthens  the governance of river basins, including transboundary ones, by providing recognised expertise in organisation, coordination and management.

On a technical level, OiEau experts analyse infrastructure, evaluate the best available techniques and participate in the reorganisation of services. Their work contributes to modernising water and sanitation systems, securing facilities, improving energy performance and anticipating emerging challenges such as the management of micropollutants and the reduction of losses.

With this in mind, OiEau also helps to secure the continuity of economic activities dependent on water resources and improve service performance by supporting project owners in defining investment strategies and developing appropriate scenarios.

The association also carries out essential work in data structuring, designing interoperable information systems that guarantee the robustness, quality, traceability and accessibility of data. These tools provide an essential foundation for planning actions, steering public policy and informing citizens. OiEau also designs dissemination and communication resources, such as the French Atlas of Shellfish Production and Repopulation Areas, which help to improve transparency and health safety while making knowledge accessible and facilitating political decision-making.

In France, Valenciennes Métropole's support for the development of its Strategic Master Plan for the Global Water Cycle illustrates an integrated approach combining diagnosis, foresight, technical analysis and the definition of a long-term sustainable vision. In the Landes region, the implementation of multi-sector pilot projects for the treatment of micropollutants demonstrates OiEau's ability to support local authorities in modernising their infrastructure.

Internationally, OiEau carries out structural projects that strengthen water policies and modernise governance mechanisms. The EU4ENVIRONMENT programme, funded by the European Commission, has supported several countries in the Eastern Partnership in designing their management plans, promoting Nature-Based Solutions and consolidating water information systems. In the Caribbean, phase I of the CARIBSAN project promoted plant-based filters as a sustainable solution for wastewater treatment. In Vietnam, the city of Bac Ha is benefiting from a structured programme aimed at establishing a roadmap for improving its sanitation. All of these projects illustrate the complementary nature of OiEau's expertise in adapting, bringing together local stakeholders and promoting profound change while respecting the specific characteristics of each territory.

Mindful of the strategic, institutional and technical challenges faced by its partners, OiEau works in strict compliance with the confidentiality of the projects entrusted to it. Many of the missions carried out in France and abroad involve sensitive data, strategic orientations or specific institutional contexts, which OiEau undertakes to treat with complete confidentiality, ethics and compliance with the data protection legislation in force.

Thanks to its independence, methodological rigour and diverse skills, OiEau is a reliable partner for all organisations wishing to strengthen their capacities, structure their strategies or modernise their services. Through its long-term commitment to working alongside public and private actors, the association contributes to the development of coherent, ambitious and forward-looking water policies.