How to save on water bills for individuals and communities?
Water is an essential element for human survival. But its treatment so that it becomes drinkable is increasingly expensive. The challenge today is to be able to use it wisely, by recovering and conserving it then making moderate and appropriate use of it. Households and communities alike have solutions at their disposal. What are they ?
The increasingly “salty” water bill
As the water bill becomes more and more significant over the years, for a similar consumption, many households turn to rainwater collectors. This is an interesting solution in the medium and long term since this equipment reduces the bill for water consumption by 40% on average. But the cost of purchasing and installing the water collector being relatively high, the State has released a budget to help individuals equip themselves .
Aid for individuals
If the tax credit previously existed, it has since been eliminated. However, it is always possible to benefit from a VAT exemption. This having been reduced from 20% to 10%, this represents a saving of 10%, provided that the rainwater collector was sold and installed by the same craftsman.
Also, each town hall, more or less sensitive to the problem of its inhabitants which ultimately concerns it in a more or less direct way, is able to grant any applicant a certain sum to help households equip themselves. This is on a case-by-case basis since the income of potential future beneficiaries is taken into account to benefit from it, and it is important to make the request before purchasing and installing the equipment.
Finally, Anah ( National Housing Agency) is also likely to make a financial contribution based on the applicants’ income, provided that the housing has been completed 15 years ago.
Communities also concerned about rainwater harvesting
The recovery and intelligent use of water is not only an objective for individuals. Professionals who use large volumes of water on a daily basis are obviously concerned. We are particularly thinking of farmers, agri-food companies but also certain industrialists. As environmental budgets shrink over the years, communities are also turning to solutions that reduce their costs for water recovery and treatment.
Rainwater collectors: we see their installation becoming frequent around buildings belonging to local authorities. They represent a first step towards reducing costs since this water does not need to be treated when it comes to watering municipal green spaces. However, this type of maintenance can quickly become a financial pit for certain municipalities depending on their geographical location and surface area. Another example, the municipal football field. If for green spaces, irrigation solutions can be installed and limit watering or if the choice of species and species of plants chosen can be decisive, the football field, for its part, must always be watered to remain passable. . Communities that have not chosen to use a recovery tarpaulin or a recovery tank like a water barrel could quickly regret it. However, they have the disadvantage of limited reserve capacity.
Rainwater treatment: to go further in the concept and thus systematically benefit from rainwater, new technologies today make it possible not only to recover it, but also to treat it with a view to making it drinkable, and to distribute them to homes. This system being very expensive initially and its amortization period relatively long (30 years), its presence is still modest on the national territory, and does not allow 100% distribution. But this remains a major issue at the heart of the concerns of local authorities in the near future.