"Agir et innover pour l'eau", a pioneering project to transform water management

As part of the France 2030 Plan, and more specifically the Innov'EAU call for projects supported by ADEME, this 5.9 million euro project aims to set a new standard: making water management smarter, more efficient and more sustainable, by ensuring a reliable water supply for the population. The Prime Minister's office has confirmed the project's eligibility, awarding ADEME funding of 4 million euros. Agir et Innover pour l'Eau" is a three-year project designed to produce a measurable environmental impact.

A unique monitoring and advanced visualization solution for smarter water management

At the heart of the project is the development of an innovative digital monitoring and advanced visualization solution, bringing together thousands of data points from sensors and software used by the metropolitan authority's departments in a modular, interoperable water resource management platform. Structured in three layers : a data management base, business modules and a real-time strategic dashboard, the platform is designed to reduce water losses, improve energyimprove energy efficiency and enhance network resilience in the face of environmental challenges such as drought and flooding.

The platform will initially be deployed across the entire network of the Nice Côte d'Azur metropolitan area. This large-scale pilot project will validate the platform's capabilities and demonstrate its potential to be extended to other water utilities in France.

"Water utilities are under increasing pressure to strengthen the resilience of their networks and improve their operational efficiency. By using intelligent solutions such as data analysis, real-time leak detection modules and predictive maintenance tools, they can proactively meet these challenges. With this project, Eau d'Azur is taking a bold step towards maintaining efficient, resilient and intelligent water management across its entire network. The integration of digital solutions such as Xylem Vue as part of the project is key to providing a holistic view of data to simplify and optimize network management, improving the safety and reliability of water resources. We are delighted, with this initiative, to help the Nice Metropole become a pioneering region in France, using digital technologies to transform water management," said Olivier Lamarie, Managing Director of Xylem France and Belux.

"Knowledge of water resources is a key factor in influencing their governance and use. This ambitious project, combining academic and technological research, is helping us to meet the challenges that global changes now pose for our societies. Knowing and identifying deep and surface reservoirs and the exchanges between them, acquiring and analyzing data, and positioning them as control parameters in simulations are all part of the project.The Université Côte d'Azur's contribution to this high-stakes "Agir et Innover pour l'Eau" (Acting and Innovating for Water) project is to acquire, analyze and position data as control parameters in simulations. It is by acting and innovating together with local players that we will be able to meet these challenges and provide solutions for managing this resource ever more sustainably and anticipating its future", Jeanick Brisswalter, President of Université Côte d'Azur.

Project timetable and implementation

The "Agir et Innover pour l'Eau" project will be deployed in ten development phases, with a focus on:

• Building a data management foundation, ensuring the platform's interoperability.
• Developing five business modules designed to meet the needs of water utilities in areas such as resource management, resilience, energy efficiency and user awareness.
• Integrate a strategic dashboard for real-time information on performance, carbon footprint and water consumption.

A strategic partnership between three complementary water players for a major technological breakthrough

The "Acting and Innovating for Water" project brings together the expertise of three strategic partners:

• Xylem, a leading global water solutions company that empowers customers and communities to build a more water-secure world, is the driving force behind this ambitious project.
• The Nice Côte d'Azur Metropolitan Council's water and wastewater authority relies on its modeling and information systems to respond to hydrological challenges.
• Université Côte d'Azur, through its Géoazur laboratory and IMREDD (Institut Méditerranéen du Risque et du Développement Durable), contributes its expertise in geosciences and its Smart City Innovation.osciences and its Smart City Innovation Center (SCIC), dedicated to R&D in environmental challenges and resilient urban development.