The price of water will increase by 106% in 2025 in the town of Signes. This is not the first time that the price has increased in the village: in 2023, the increase was already 30%.
A significant increase. In 2025, residents of Signes (Var) will see the price of water increase by 106%. On a water bill of 50 euros in 2024, you will therefore have to pay double, or 103 euros.
If this is not the first time that water has increased in the town – in 2023 the increase was 30% – the news does not get through to residents.
“It's huge. We have so many things, everything is increasing in life… 106% is huge, how are we going to deal with that”, laments Jeanne-Marie to BFM Toulon Var.
“I believe that it (water, Editor’s note) was quite expensive compared to Veolia’s functional costs,” assures Joël. While Nadia adds: “I think we already pay a lot. Personally, increasing it again and again becomes exhausting.”
A situation denounced by the mayor
There is general dissatisfaction among residents who until now benefited from the lowest prices in the South Sainte Baume conurbation. The mayor of the town, Hélène Verduyn, also denounced this situation during the last municipal council of Signes, Monday December 2, as reported by Var-Matin.
“I had accepted, out of solidarity, a relatively moderate increase for 2024, renewable in subsequent years, in order not to impose a violent increase on my constituents,” she declared.
Signes would not be the only municipality to experience an increase, assures Blandine Monier, mayor of Evenos and president of the urban community. “It is increasing in all the communes, in Le Beausset, la Cadière, Signes in the high country,” she assures.
“The coastal municipalities have a DST (Public Service Delegation) which includes more concessionary works, which will be carried out by the delegatee. There were networks which were less degraded than those in the high country. There is more population , there are fewer lines of pipes, we have to think from a global vision of the territory”, explains the president of the agglomeration.
A homogenization of prices
For the moment, the nine municipalities of the South Sainte Baume agglomeration have different water prices, but the pricing will be standardized in 2031. A lack of understanding for the mayor of Signes who assured the municipal council that “equality is not not fairness,” reports Var-Matin.
“The same rate applied to each municipality is not fair. Mine is out of the center, has no public transport, includes the least well-off population. Solidarity should start there,” she finished.
Florent Pauquet, with Marine Langlois
