Urban Utilities

Since the 19th century, western cities have been equipped with all kinds of utilities and networks supplying them with water, gas, electricity, public transport, waste collection and disposal. To supply a city with water is to solve both the problem of distribution in sufficient quantity and also that water potability.
Bernard Barraqué, socio-economist and urban planner at CIRED, after a brief historical review, presents the research that has been carried out constantly to improve water supply and quality. He also insists that, to avoid the evil circle of more water treatments and therefore more measures, water management must be done within an environmental engineering approach rather than that of sanitary engineering.
Gérard Chagneau, chief engineer at SEDIF, describes very precisely all the techniques of water potabilisation, in particular in the Méry-sur-Oise plant, where nanofiltration or ultrafiltration is used.