At the annual Mayors and local authorities exhibition, held at Porte de Versailles in Paris from 21 to 23 November, Veolia and its partner Bayard are introducing their brand new NEO connected fountain. Combining the volume and value of water, this new-generation connected tool meets the social and environmental challenges facing local authorities by offering a new approach to water resources. The exhibition is a key event for elected representatives and other players involved in the day-to-day management and development of local and regional areas, providing an opportunity to raise their awareness of water resource issues by offering practical, desirable solutions, such as NEO.

Reinventing access to drinking water in the city
The result of a joint project between Veolia and its partner Bayard, a French manufacturer of fountain parts and inventor of the hydrant in 1901, the brand new “NEO” fountain stands out for both its usefulness and its ingenuity. A tool based on artificial intelligence, this connected hydrant promotes access to drinking water in towns and cities, while combating urban heat islands and making savings on water resources. This threefold objective combines the expertise of the two partners in water management and in making water available to local residents.

This new-generation connected fountain has three main functions making it unique:

• Fogging
  To combat heat islands and the risk of street pooling during periods of high heat.
• Water bottle filling
  To make water available and easily accessible to residents.
• A reverse jet
  Enabling users without containers to drink hygienically.

Veolia’s expertise at the service of local residents
For 170 years, Veolia has mastered every stage of the water cycle. Thanks to this positioning, the Group can respond to local authorities and residents’ challenges in terms of easy, hygienic and useful access to water. Veolia’s employees expertise in this field enables the company to provide long-term support to its clients in the implementation of integrated and sustainable management of water resources.

The new-generation NEO drinking fountain is based on this approach, rethinking our relationship with drinking water in towns and cities and its availability. The fountain is a practical response to the challenge of access to water in cities, and a means of supporting local authorities in their policy of developing active mobility. For example, it aims to improve access to drinking water in public spaces, while preserving and protecting local resources. Finally, the bollard helps to combat street pooling, a widespread phenomenon during heatwaves, which impacts water resources by creating islands of coolness for local residents.

The environmental issue:
A water-efficient hydrant
Thanks to a wide range of parameters for quantifying the availability of resources, the NEO fountain can be used to monitor the volumes of water distributed: misting time, duration of reverse jet, tap flow rate. This tool enables local authorities to accurately monitor the volumes consumed remotely on a dedicated platform. They can also receive maintenance alerts in the event of technical problems. Finally, there is the possibility of allowing water to infiltrate into the ground using paving stones made from shells.

The social issue:
Access to water for all, summer and winter alike
With a height of 120 cm, the hydrant has been adapted to be accessible to people with reduced mobility. Accessible in both summer and winter, its frost-free functionality ensures that drinking water is available to people of no fixed abode, whose only water source may sometimes be in the street.