From ensuring security at major events to ensuring that of all the area's citizens, there remained a further step to be taken—and it was done for the first time by France's special operations tactical force, RAID, and Veolia for the Jeux de la Francophonie, held in Nice from September 7 to 15, 2013. For the first time ever, the RAID and the DCI-IT extended their NRBC security capacities to the surveillance of water supply networks managed by Veolia. The operator makes use of a unique technology, ENDETEC-KAPTA™, chosen by the Nice Cote d'Azur metropolitan area.
Made up of smart, energy-autonomous sensors, this technological solution was selected by the European SECUR'EAU project and tried out at the Shanghai World Expo in 2010 before being validated during the 2012 London Olympics. The KAPTA™ sensors are installed on the supply network at sensitive points identified by the RAID and the DCI-IT. The sensors continually measure the main water quality parameters, as recommended by the World Health Organization: pressure, active chlorine, temperature and conductivity.
Round-the-clock surveillance is ensured in real time by Veolia experts, who monitor and continually analyze the data via a secure Web service. In case of an alert, the experts identify the origin and decide whether the water contamination is accidental or intentional. If the abnormal change in water quality remains unexplained, the alert is immediately given to the operations center of the RAID and the DCI-IT for action.
The reaction time is primordial. Ready to move into action immediately, the RAID takes all necessary measures—closing off an area, evacuating people—to ensure people's safety and overcome terrorist attacks.
"Up until now, there was no solution suitable for continually monitoring water quality in the supply networks, which are often complex, ageing and very large. Thanks to the Veolia technologies, tested at the Shanghai World Expo then validated at the London Olympics, this type of surveillance is now possible. Associated with the capacities of the RAID and the DCI-IT, it is now the best response to any intentional contamination of the network."
Jean-Michel Herrewyn
Director of Global Enterprises at Veolia Environnement and of Endetec, which is the creator of the technical innovation
¹ DCI-IT: Détachement Central Interministériel d'Intervention Technique (interministerial central detachment for technical interventions, under the authority of the Minister of the Interior)
Veolia Environnement
Veolia Environnement (Paris Euronext: VIE and NYSE: VE) is the worldwide reference in environmental solutions. With 220,000 employees*, the company has operations all around the world and provides tailored solutions to meet the needs of municipal and industrial customers in three complementary segments: water management, waste management and energy management. Veolia Environnement recorded revenue of €29.4 billion* in 2012.
(*) ExcludingTransdev employees and revenues currently under divestment
Press Contacts
Stéphane Galfré
Tél. : + 33 (0)1 71 75 19 27
[email protected]
Sandrine Guendoul
Tél : + 33 (0)1 71 75 12 52
[email protected]