30 years of commitment

Creation of OiEau
The Water Institute in Limoges, the International Training Centre for Water Resources Management in Sophia Antipolis, and the French Association for Water Studies in Paris join forces to form the International Office for Water, a non-profit association under French law, declared to be of public utility by the Decree of 13 September 1991.

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Implementation of the Urban Wastewater & Nitrates Directive (EU)
It provides a framework for sanitation in Europe by imposing standards on Member States for the collection, treatment and discharge of urban wastewater and wastewater from certain industrial sectors.

Implementation of the New Water Law in France
This is the legislative recognition of water as a "common heritage of the Nation".

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Appearance of the IWRM concept (International)
Integrated Water Resources Management is a process that promotes the coordinated development and management of water, land and associated resources to maximise the resulting economic and social well-being in an equitable manner without compromising the sustainability of vital ecosystems.

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Creation of RNDE (France)
The National Water Data Network brings together the main producers of public water data to facilitate the sharing and availability of these data, and thus to constitute a Water Information System (WIS).

Creation of SANDRE (France)
The Technical Secretariat of the National Administration Service for Water Data and Reference Frameworks is ensured by OiEau, which animates, elaborates and makes available this common reference frame of the water language of the WIS.

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Creation of the EEA (EU)
The European Environment Agency is an agency of the European Union whose mission is to provide reliable and independent information on the environment.

Creation of INBO
The International Network of Basin Organizations is an association of general interest whose permanent Technical Secretariat is provided by OiEau. Its objective is to develop and support Integrated Water Resources Management at the level of river basins worldwide.

1st World Water Forum (International)
The World Water Forum is the largest international water event. It is organised every three years by the World Water Council in partnership with a host country. It brings together all the actors of the international water community to discuss water-related issues and problems of all kinds and aims to mobilise the world's political decision-makers on these subjects.

OiEau Training Centre (France) obtains ISO 9001 version 2015 certification
OiEau's quality approach improves with the achievement of this international quality management standard, which guarantees efficiency and customer satisfaction.

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OiEau's support to twinning in the EU
Institutional twinning is an initiative of the European Commission aiming at helping the countries applying for accession to the European Union to strengthen their administrative capacities, for the implementation of the European directives, by relying on the Ministries concerned of the old Member States.

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Adoption of the Aarhus Convention (International)
Signed by 39 states, it deals with access to information, public participation in decision-making and access to justice in environmental matters.

Creation of Gest'Eau (France)
Created and managed by OiEau with the support of the AFB (French Agency for Biodiversity) and the Ministry in charge of the Environment, this platform provides information on the River basin management plan (SDAGE) and the Sub-basin management plan (SAGE), as well as on the environmental contracts (river, bay, groundwater)

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Adoption of the Water Framework Directive (EU)
It applies to all EU Member States and establishes a framework for EU water policy, including the protection of inland surface waters, transitional waters, coastal waters and groundwater.

Publication of the French National Water Thesaurus (France)
The six French water agencies, the French Biodiversity Agency, the Water and Biodiversity Directorate of the Ministry of Ecology and Sustainable Development and OiEau have drawn up a semantic reference system containing over 3,700 terms, the Water Thesaurus.

Creation of the Water Information System (WIS) (France)
Succeeding the RNDE, it is a system created by the State for sharing and making available data on water resources, aquatic environments, their uses as well as public water and sanitation utilities, for metropolitan France and the overseas departments.

Creation of Euro-INBO (Europe)
This is the European Network of INBO, which gathers Basin Organizations of the continent. It promotes the application and participates in the practical implementation of the WFD by the basin organizations of the enlarged EU, the candidate countries and the interested countries of Central Europe and the Mediterranean.

Creation of the French shellfish area atlas (France)
It presents the shellfish growing areas and their sanitary classification, reflecting the microbiological quality of the shellfish present and their heavy metal contamination.

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Enlargement of the EU from 15 to 25 countries (EU)
10 countries joined the European Union whose member states ensure the maintenance of peace in Europe and promote economic and social progress: Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Malta and Cyprus.

Implementation of the Oudin-Santini law (France)
It authorises French local authorities, unions and water agencies to devote up to 1% of their water and sanitation budget to finance international solidarity actions in these sectors. It is a valuable lever for the implementation of decentralised cooperation projects.

Coordination of European innovation and research projects, by OiEau (Europe)
OiEau is very active in the setting-up, coordination and participation in many projects financed by the European Commission, aiming at supporting the various stakeholders in the water sector, at all scales. 2006 marks, for example, the launching of IWRM-Net (Integrated Water Resource Management) to enable the programmers and financiers of research in the field of water, and more particularly of Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM), to finance transnational calls for projects.

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Adoption of the Law on Water and Aquatic Environments (LEMA) (France)
The LEMA ensures the transcription into French law of the WFD principles, in particular the achievement of the objectives of good water status, the improvement of the conditions of access to water for all, and more transparency in the operation of the public water service.

Implementation of the INSPIRE Directive (EU)
It is aimed at public authorities and aims to establish a spatial data infrastructure in Europe to ensure interoperability between databases and to facilitate the dissemination, availability, use and re-use of spatial information on the continent, in order to promote environmental protection.

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Implementation of the EU Floods Directive
It defines the general framework within which the Member States of the European Union organise their flood risk management policy with the aim of reducing the negative consequences for human health, economic activity, the environment and cultural heritage.

1st IWRM partnerships with water agencies (France & World)
OiEau provides technical support to the international actions of the French Water Agencies, in favor of the implementation of IWRM in the countries which express the wish.

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Obtaining of the ISO 9001 version 2008 certification by SANDRE (France)
Within the framework of the establishment, updating and dissemination of reference frames for the French Water Information System (WIS), SANDRE obtained this certification for the management of the following alphanumeric data sets: fractions to be analyzed, media, parameters, measurement units, methods, taxons, stakeholders.

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Right to drinking water and sanitation (France)
The Law on Water and Aquatic Environments (LEMA) presents two major advances in French legislation: the recognition of the right to water for all and the consideration of adaptation to climate change in water resources management.

Creation of the SIIF-UWW digital platform (EU)
Developed for the European Commission by OiEau, in collaboration with the Austrian Environment Agency (UBA), and applied to urban wastewater, this platform allows importing formatted data, visualising them in the form of graphical maps and tables, linking them to other national information, exporting them for other needs, and calculating some national tables useful for reporting. It allows Member States to show the state of implementation of the UWW Directive on their territory.

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Appearance of the concept of Natural Water Retention Measures (World)
These are devices that contribute to slowing down the flow of water, through the restoration of ecosystems or the modification of practices, in order to improve or restore the retention capacity of water, in natural or anthropised environments.

Publication of the National Technical Reference (RTN) for Drinking Water and Sanitation in Haiti
OiEau has written this RTN of more than 100 documents and 3.000 pages, for the National Directorate of Drinking Water and Sanitation of Haiti. It sets out the requirements that all actors in the sector must follow for works, projects, etc.

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Official launch of the International Year of Water Cooperation (World)
Established by the UN General Assembly, its objective is to raise awareness of the benefits of cooperation in water management, share successful examples of cooperation in this field, and explore the challenges of safeguarding and managing it.

Publication of OiEau's technical notebook n°20 on stormwater (France)
Practical and educational guides for self-training or documentation on the technical aspect of a field, OiEau publishes its 20th technical booklet, dealing this time with stormwater.

Launch of the Paris Pact: Water and Adaptation to Climate Change (World)
The Paris Pact on Water and Adaptation to Climate Change in River, Lake and Aquifer Basins, led by INBO, whose Permanent Technical Secretariat is provided by OiEau, aims at mobilizing all the stakeholders involved to take the necessary actions to adapt freshwater management to the effects of climate change. Signatories: over 300 organisations from all over the world.

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Emergence of the Nature-based Solutions (World) concept
NBS are defined by IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) as "actions to protect, sustainably manage and restore natural or modified ecosystems to directly address societal challenges in an effective and adaptive manner, while ensuring human well-being and providing benefits for biodiversity".

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COP21 Climate (World)
Organised by France, this edition was marked by the adoption of the Paris Agreement, committing all countries in the world to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and keep global warming, below 2°C, by 2100.

VeRiselect certification obtained (France)
The OiEau Training Centre obtains the VeriSelect - Professional Training certification from Bureau Veritas, and is now referenced on DataDock, thus allowing French professional training funders to verify our compliance with the quality criteria defined by the law.

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100,000th student trained by the OiEau Training Centre
OiEau exceeds the milestone of 100,000 people trained in water, environment and circular economy professions, since its creation!

Launch of the BIO-PLATEAUX project (Guyana/Brazil/Suriname)
This project, coordinated by OiEau, aims to develop the sharing of information on water and the biodiversity of aquatic environments between French Guiana, Brazil and Suriname, in order to gain a better understanding of the resource, as well as the associated uses and impacts, in the shared catchment areas of the Oyapock and Maroni rivers.

Renewal of the public utility recognition and revision of the statutes (France)
OiEau is a non-profit association under French law, declared of public utility by the Decree of 13 September 1991. This declaration was renewed by the Ministry of the Interior, which also validated the modification of OiEau's statutes.

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Creation of the French Office for Biodiversity (OFB) (France)
Under the supervision of the Ministries of Ecological Transition, Agriculture and Food, this public establishment is dedicated to the protection and restoration of biodiversity in France and in the French overseas territories.

OiEau's Training Centre: obtaining Qualiopi certification (France)
This certification assures OiEau's clients and partners that its training process complies with the requirements of the National Quality Reference System.