InternationalO f f i c efor Water

International Office for WaterInternational Institute for Water Administration -

Facilitatinginstitutional reforms

IInternationalIInstitute

forWWaterAAdministration

The International Office for Water is specialized in advising and training on legislative, regulatory, institutional,financial or social fields necessary for preparing and implementing advisable reforms to improve local water management.

IOWater proposes interested countries and institutions to work with them for improving their own capacities for administrativeorganization and developing their capabilities, to enable them:

➨ formulate regional, national or local strategies for water resource management,

➨ organize and manage specialized administrationsand institutions,

➨ prepare legal and regulatory texts,

➨ undertake economic simulations, planningand study of masterplans,

➨ set up partnerships (river basin committees,users associations,...),

➨ set up public/private partnerships and the delegated management of water utilities.

IOWater, with its partners, prioritizes:

● Integrated management of water resources of national or transboundary river basins,lakes and aquifers,

● Drinking water supply and sanitation,

● The prevention and control of industrial pollution,

● The design and management of water infrastructures.

InternationalO f f i c efor Water

The International Office forWater is in charge of thePermanent Technical

Secretariat of THEINTERNATIONAL NETWORKOF BASIN ORGANIZATIONS

(INBO)

In November 1996, it wasentrusted with the secretariat

of the Marseilles Euro-Mediterranean

Conference on Local WaterManagement

It was also entrusted with theorganization of the

International Conference on Water and SustainableDevelopment, held in Paris

in March 1998

In France, the International Office for Water manages the National Center for Water-related Information and Documentation.

This includes:

● The EAUDOC international documentation basewith more than 200,000 references,

● The National Water Data Base (BNDE), which definesthe data dictionary, protocols, coding, reference systems andSANDRE system’s standardized exchange format and gathers the summary information necessary for informingthe authorities,

● The Permanent Inventory of Water Studies and Research,

● The website “http://www.iowater.org”

Thanks to the French experience, IOWater is in charge of:

➨ The "AQUADOC-INTER" network, which gathers the National Relay Documentation Centers of the membercountries of the International Network of BasinOrganizations.

➨ The Euro-Mediterranean System on Know-howin the Water Sector (EMWIS).

It also proposes to cooperate with the interested countriesfor the creation of their own documentation and information centers (design of documentation management systems, specifications for telematic and information processing equipment and means,supply and exchange of documents) and for the professionaltraining of their documentation staff.

Disseminatingknow-how

A networkof partners

The International Office for Water is a non-profit-making Association under the French Law of July 1, 1901,state approved by Decree on September 13, 1991.

IOWater’s objective is to gather public and privatepartners involved in water resource management and protection in France, Europe and over the World(bi and multi-lateral cooperation organizations, ministries, river basinagencies, local authorities, universities, engineering schools, researchcenters, land development companies, water suppliers andprofessionals, industrialists, professional associations,non governmental organizations, …).

It aims to set up a network of partners wishing to havepermanent relations for mutual cooperation and to develop all aspects of the expertise that they can provide in their complementary fields.

IOWater now comprises 149 member organizations.

It employs a permanent staff of 110 people in itsDepartments located in Paris, Limoges-La Souterraine and Sophia-Antipolis in France and can mobilize a networkof 380 international experts, within ministries, publicservices or French Local Authorities in particular,as well as among its partners of the European Union or of the International Network of Basin Organizations(INBO), of which IOWater is responsible for the TechnicalPermanent Secretariat.

21, rue de Madrid75008 Paris

Tél. : + 33 1 44 90 88 60Fax : + 33 1 40 08 01 45

E-mail : dg@oieau.fr

Place Sophie Laffitte - BP 7506902 Sophia-Antipolis Cedex

Tél. : + 33 4 92 94 58 00Fax : + 33 4 93 65 44 02

E-mail : aquacoope@oieau.frhttp://www.iowater.org

“Capacity building for better water management”

Developing human resources

Facilitatinginstitutional reforms

DESIGN AND MANAGEMENT OF LARGE WATER INFRASTRUCTURES

● Large regional developments, concessions, etc,● Management of irrigated schemes:

● strategy and program management,● project evaluation, public information,● human resources management,● industrial and commercial operation of collective

irrigation systems, water price - tariffs,● knowledge of natural resources - maintenance

of facilities and infrastructures,● irrigation management, water saving,● Syndicates associations - cooperatives of agricultural

irrigation, participation of irrigation users,● Joint management of facilities: small rural irrigation,

appropriate technologies.

Organizing modern informationand monitoring systems

The International Office for Water prioritizes the development of continuous professional training.IOWater trains more than 4,000 trainees each year,in France and abroad.The proposed training programs:➨ are intended for all professional classes: engineers

and executives; technicians; workers and employees,➨ cover all specialized fields and positions:

administration, design, implementation, operation,maintenance, management, ...,

➨ are based on the "on-the-job training" principle:● relying on educational stays in French Ministries,

Water Agencies, municipalities or specialized institutionsand firms,

● using real-size educational pilot units,at the National Training Center for WaterProfessions, that reproduce the professionalenvironment of the trainees.

It always deals with training focused on the realpractice of water professions.

The catalogue includes more than 200 specialized trainingcourses, that can be organized in French, English andSpanish either in France or in the interested countries,on the following topics:➨ Management of water resources and public utilities,➨ Drinking water supply and sewerage in towns,➨ Process water and the decontamination of industrial

effluent.IOWater also organizes awareness campaigns for local elected officials and users on water resourcemanagement.These have already gathered more than 12,000participants in France.The International Office for Water also assists interestedinstitutions in creating or developing locally their ownTRAINING CENTERS:➨ Needs assessment,➨ Preparation of multi-year training plans,➨ Training of national trainers,➨ Design of buildings and educational units,➨ Supply of equipment, technical educational pilot units

in particular,➨ Adaptation of the educational equipment

and materials (technical booklets, remote training,CD-ROM, educational software) to the local context and language.

Integrated and comprehensive water resource managementrequires a modern information system which allows to:● Know the quality and quantity of available

resources,● Assess the abstractions needed for the different uses

as well as discharges and water pollution,● Find out the "hot spots" and as a consequence

the priority actions to be carried out,● Follow up the efficiency of implemented policies,● React quickly in case of an emergency (floods,

accidental pollution, drought, ...).IOWater manages the French Water Data Network(RNDE) and the French Water Database (BNDE),and is a partner of the European Environmental Agency‘sTopic Center on Water.

The International Office for Water proposes interestedcountries to assist them with the design of their monitoringnetworks and water databases:● Identification of needs,● Analysis of existing systems: Databases, Geographic

Information Systems, monitoring networks,● Feasibility studies and definition of the terms

of reference for projects concerning local, nationalor international information systems or warningnetworks:● data collection, sensors, measurements, analyses,● data exchanges, standardization, data standardization

and validation,● systems management,● data processing: indicators, mapping (SIG).

● Training of executives and staff.

INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF RIVER BASINS AND AQUIFERS

● International conventions and agreements for the management of transboundary rivers and aquifers,

● Organization of governmental departments:authorizations and control of abstractions and discharges - local and sectoral administrative coordination - navigation departments, concession of water rights - water law enforcement - claims - legalactions, ...,

● Partnership with the river basin users(Local authorities, industrialists, fishermen, farmers, fishfarmers, tourism, waterway transport and hydropowerprofessions, nature conservation and users associations,etc.) - river basin committees - information and awareness raising programs,

● Creation and assistance to river basin organizations:● "polluter-pays" principle - tax base - charges, taxes,

fines - users’ register,● Masterplans for Water Development and

Management - quality objectives,● Priority Action Programs and financial simulations,● large regional developments (hydropower, navigation,

irrigation, large intakes, flood and drought control,water transfers, civil defense, ...)

● monitoring networks - teletransmission - warning -data management - river basin databases - laboratories - hydrology - rainfall analysis -resources forecasts – information systems and modeling, ...,

● Research and knowledge of hydrological systemsand aquatic environments: management ofreservoirs and lakes - eutrophication control,management of halieutic resources and inland fishfarming,

● Erosion control - reforestation - rehabilitation of mountainous lands - snow level metering,

● Environmental impact assessments and localand regional environmental plans.

ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT OF MUNICIPAL UTILITIES DRINKING WATER SUPPLY,WASTEWATER AND STORM WATER COLLECTION AND TREATMENT

● Decentralization process:● competence and responsibilities of Municipalities

and Local Authorities - administrative organization -accounting systems,

● local cooperation bodies (syndicates, districts,communities of towns, municipal organizations, ...),

● Organization of drinking water supply andsanitation utilities:● direct State control,● delegated management (leasing, "affermage",

concession, BOT, ...),● semi-public corporation,● public/private partnerships,

● Commercial and industrial management:tariffs - water price - cost recovery, ...,● drawing-up of investment programs - masterplans -

project appraisal,● public contracting - invitations to tender -

control of service providers,● operation - maintenance - knowledge

and maintenance of the natural heritage - rehabilitation of networks and facilities - leak detection,

● monitoring - quality control - computerization -automation, ...,

● Relations with users - users' reception - information -communication - consumers’ associations,

● Urban hydrology - pollution and flow monitoring -data bases - modeling - expert systems.

DESIGN AND MANAGEMENT OF LARGE WATER INFRASTRUCTURES

ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT OF MUNICIPAL UTILITIES DRINKING WATER SUPPLY,WASTEWATER AND STORM WATER COLLECTION AND TREATMENT

INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF RIVER BASINS AND AQUIFERS

PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTAL AND PERMANENT INDUSTRIALPOLLUTION

● Legislation, regulation, standardization,● Organization of local administrative

inspectorates: project evaluation, controls, claims,legal actions,

● Integration of industrialists into River BasinCommittees,

● Environmental evaluation of firms:● environmental audits,● clean technologies,● process water - heating and cooling systems,● effluent treatment processes and decontamination,

system design, operation and maintenance of industrial water facilities,

● Programs for the prevention of non-point pollution of water by fertilizers(nitrates-phosphates) and agricultural pesticides -cropping techniques, development and equipment of farms and animal husbandry - treatment of liquidmanure - soil analysis and results of sound use of fertilizers, public information,

● Monitoring of abstractions and discharges,analysis, standard assessment of pollution bases,

● Prevention of accidental pollution hazards and emergency programs.

PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTAL AND PERMANENT INDUSTRIALPOLLUTION