The data collected by the observatory are drawn from the annual report on prices and service quality that the elected official in charge of water services for each local government must present to the citizens, i.e. the mayor to the town council, etc.

The annual report presents detailed information on each service (drinking water and sanitation), regardless of the size of each service and of the management system. The mandatory contents were defined by the representatives of all the participants in water management (State services, local governments, public and private utilities) and validated by all the concerned parties represented in the National water committee.

In this section, you will find all the documents on which the observatory bases its operations and legitimacy.

Onema (National Agency for water and aquatic environments) and the Water information system :

• Loi n°2006-1772 du 30 décembre 2006 sur l'eau et les milieux aquatiques
• Article L213-2 Code de l’environnement
• Décret n° 2007-443 du 25 mars 2007

National framework for water data :

• Décret n° 2009-1543 du 11 décembre 2009 relatif au référentiel technique prévu par l'article R. 213-12-2 du code de l'environnement
• Arrêté du 26 juillet 2010 approuvant le schéma national des données sur l'eau

Advisory commission on local public services :

• Loi n° 2010-788 du 12 juillet 2010 portant engagement national pour l'environnement
• Article 1413-1 du Code général des collectivités territoriales

Local animation of the observatory :

• Circulaire interministérielle du 24 novembre 2008