Veolia supplies 40% of the population in the Aude département with water (227,000 inhabitants). Which is why a hundred or so Group operators were mobilized in the first few hours after the flood hit. They worked tirelessly alongside the local authorities and the Occitanie regional health agency to maintain a continuous and potable water supply.
In the worst affected area around Carcassonne, in just a few hours the Veolia teams were able to get the Barthes drinking water production plant, which was partially flooded, back on line. Located in Cuxac-Cabardès, the plant treats 10,000 m3 of water per day for 50,000 inhabitants. It supplies municipalities covered by the Syndicat Sud Oriental des Eaux de la Montagne Noire, whose networks were damaged by the torrential rain.
In the gymnasium in the town of Trèbes, Pierre Lompech, Veolia’s Director of the Aude Territory, and his two colleagues Jean-Paul Tabarly and Gérard Gurizan, shook hands with the President who personally thanked them for their work:
"A moving moment shared with civil defence, fire fighters and all the elected officials of the department," commented Pierre Lompech.
"By thanking our local teams, Emmanuel Macron has reminded us about how essential it is to ensure water is universally accessible," added Romain Ascione, regional director for the South region for Veolia's Water business in France.
key figures
In the Aude area, Veolia manages 19 drinking water production plants, 63 wastewater treatment plants, a drinking water network of 2300 km and a sewage network of 1270 km.
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> Veolia's business activities and its expertise in water management