Paris is equipped with a network of non-drinking water inherited from the 19th century. Supplied by the Ourcq Canal and the River Seine, it is mainly uses by the City of Paris to clean public spaces, water parks and gardens, supply water to “blue” infrastructures in woods and sewer cleaning operations. It offers an alternative resource to drinking water that is economical both to treat and energy-wise. Its future uses need to be specified in the 2022-2034 Eau de Paris Master Plan.
In 2012, the Paris Council decided to maintain and optimise the non-drinking water network. The Master Plan for the uses and the network, approved in 2015, need to be renewed for a longer period, from 2022 to 2034.
With this in view, the Department of Cleanliness and Water and Eau de Paris are researching into “Matching the level of services for the uses of non-drinking water with a sustainable level of investment.
The aim of this atlas is to cross-reference the optimisation hypotheses of the network with the Bioclimatic Local Urbanism Plan’s mandatory objectives, in terms of greening public and private spaces, fighting against urban heat islands and the Bioclimatic Local Urbanism Plan. This optimisation involves a linear reduction of the network and of the number of hydraulic devices (washing outlets, tank filling outlets, resources for watering public space and flushing out tanks in sewers.
The atlas maps the most recent data and takes into account the possible uses of the network in regard to current practices and their planned development. It allows a vision that is shared between uses and environmental objectives based on three major themes: cleanliness and sanitation, cooling and green spaces.
This atlas is also an opportunity to update and cross-reference the agency’s studies that address the enhancement and preservation of the water resource, cooling paths, public space to be greened, UHI mitigation and energy resources.
