The SobriEau action research project wins the ADEME's France 2030 – Innov'Eau call for projects

The SobriEau action research project, led by École nationale des ponts et chaussées, AgroParisTech Innovation, and Cerema, has been selected as a winner of the Ademe France 2030 Innov’Eau call for projects.

This four-year project (2025-2029) aims to achieve a lasting reduction in water use in existing buildings by exploring several avenues:

• Sobriety: by questioning water usage and needs through observation, auditing, and user support
• Efficiency: by testing and then implementing water-saving devices and processes
• Water circularity and substitution where relevant: by reusing certain volumes of water for other uses within the building and its grounds, and by modifying the type and quality of water used for certain purposes according to circumstances and needs
• Overall circularity: by combining water savings with the development of local agricultural nutrient recovery sectors, in particular through the separation of urine at source
• Public policy: by contributing to the adaptation of local public policy, in particular by suggesting changes to water and sanitation business models so that substantial water savings are viable for the necessary services and investments and overcome current obstacles.

SobriEau offers an integrated approach to water management (human, technical, and territorial) while meeting user needs. Methods and tools will be tested to make 60 existing pilot buildings water efficient in three demonstration areas (Angers Loire Métropole, La Rochelle Agglomération, and Valence Romans Agglomération).

The SobriEau project is one of the projects associated with the Ocapi research program (Laboratory for Water, Environment, and Urban Systems - Leesu), coordinated by Fabien Esculier and Marine Legrand.