Semerap

What Semerap does

Semerap is a French Société Publique Locale (SPL) operating as the delegated public water and sanitation utility for approximately 170 communes across the Puy-de-Dôme department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Founded in 1975 as France's first SEM for water and sanitation network operation, the company is wholly owned (100%) by its local-government shareholders—communes, intercommunal syndicats, and communautés de communes—with a social capital of €4,948,189. Following its 2014 conversion to SPL status under French Law No. 2010-559, Semerap operates exclusively for these shareholder entities without competitive bidding, providing integrated services spanning the complete water cycle: catchment, pumping, treatment, storage, and distribution through more than 3,100 km of networks, plus collective and non-collective (SPANC) sanitation across approximately 100 wastewater treatment plants.

The company employs nearly 180 staff organized into specialized divisions, including a 45-person environment division, a 19-person new construction pole, and 60 field agents deployed in six 10-person teams providing 24/7 on-call emergency response. Its technology stack centers on industrial SCADA/IoT systems rather than AI/ML: Géoconcept GIS for network cartography, TOPKAPI supervision software with SOFREL/PERAX telemetry for real-time monitoring, CARL SOURCE for asset management, and acoustic and gas-tracer leak detection equipment. The company holds ISO 9001 certification since 2001 (renewed triennially), is pursuing ISO 14001, and deployed a first-in-France HDPE hydraulic regulation innovation in June 2021 in partnership with local IT firm SCATE.

Semerap generates revenue through a hybrid model combining regulated affermage contracts with municipal shareholders (fixed subscription plus consumption-based variable billing, re-actualized annually) and on-demand professional services—hydro-jetting, camera inspection, leak detection, street sweeping, fire hydrant testing, and laboratory water analysis—for municipalities, private companies, and individuals. Distribution is entirely direct: formal delegated service contracts for government clients, an online customer portal (agence-en-ligne.semerap.fr) plus physical customer service for residential subscribers, and quote-based engagement for specialized technical services. Customer segments are primarily the same local-government entities that own the company, with residential individuals as the second tier served through transparent pass-through billing.

Name

Semerap

Legal name

Société d'Exploitation Mutualisée pour l'Eau, l'environnement, les Réseaux, l'Assainissement dans l'intérêt du Public

Website

https://semerap.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Semerap is a French public local company (SPL) wholly owned by local authorities, operating as the delegated water and sanitation utility for ~170 communes in Puy-de-Dôme, managing 3,100+ km of water networks, ~100 treatment plants, and serving residential subscribers under regulated affermage contracts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Riom

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Water Distribution Service Fees: Revenue from delegated service management contracts (affermage) with local authorities for drinking water distribution. Rates are set under regulatory framework and include a fixed subscription component and a variable component proportional to consumption. The company passes costs through transparently to end customers.
2. Sanitation Services (Collective and Autonomous): Revenue from collective sanitation network management and SPANC (autonomous sanitation) inspection services for municipalities and individual property owners. Includes control of existing installations (≈1,000 visits/year) and new installation monitoring (≈200 dossiers/year).
3. Construction and Connection Works: Revenue from new connection and network extension works for water and sanitation, charged to customers (residential and municipalities) via quotes accepted prior to work commencement. The pole travels performs on average 3 construction sites per week with 7 teams of 2.
4. Specialized Technical Services: Revenue from hydro-jetting (sewer cleaning), camera inspection, leak detection, street sweeping (4 GPS-equipped sweepers, ≈4,500 hours/year), fire hydrant testing, and other contracted services for municipalities, private companies, and individuals.
5. Laboratory Analysis Services: Internal water testing laboratory providing bacteriological quality control of distributed drinking water and wastewater analysis, supporting quality certifications.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Semerap is a public water utility that operates, maintains and develops municipal drinking water distribution networks, wastewater (sewage) collection and treatment infrastructure, and related public-environment services for around 170 communes in France. It sells access to potable water, sanitation services, network operations and maintenance, customer metering and billing, and bespoke industrial-effluent and water-hygiene services to both municipal clients and individual subscribers.

Product overview

SEMERAP is a public water utility company (Société d'Exploitation Mutualisée pour l'Eau, l'environnement, les Réseaux, l'Assainissement dans l'intérêt du Public) operating as a Public Limited Company (SPL) owned entirely by local authorities. The company provides an integrated portfolio of water and sanitation services organized around three core pillars: drinking water distribution (eau potable), collective and non-collective sanitation (assainissement), and environmental services. Services span the complete water cycle from source capture, pumping, treatment, and distribution through wastewater collection, treatment, and discharge. The operational portfolio includes network construction and maintenance, hydrocuring, camera inspection, street sweeping, remote telemetry monitoring, and laboratory water quality analysis. The company serves approximately 170 municipalities in Puy-de-Dôme department with nearly 180 employees and manages over 3,100 kilometers of water networks and approximately 100 wastewater treatment plants. Digital services include an online customer portal (Espace abonné) for account management and bill payment. The company operates from headquarters in Riom and an exploitation center in Joze, maintaining 24/7 on-call service for network emergencies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Drinking water production and distribution Public drinking-water service — capture, treatment and delivery of potable water through a managed pipe network — for the communes, businesses and households in Semerap's delegated service area.
• Wastewater collection and treatment Operating about 100 wastewater treatment plants and the associated sewer networks to collect and treat domestic and industrial effluents for subscribing municipalities.
• Network operation and maintenance Day-to-day operations, preventive maintenance, repairs and renewal of water and sewer networks, supported by GIS mapping and SCADA telemetry.
• Customer metering, billing and online subscriber portal Meter reading, consumption billing and a web portal that lets household and small-business subscribers manage their account and consumption.
• Industrial effluent and water-hygiene laboratory services Bespoke laboratory analysis of water hygiene and treatment of industrial effluents for businesses and local authorities.
• Public works and engineering for hydraulic infrastructure Design-build of extensions and renewals of water and wastewater networks and treatment plants for client communes.

Quantifiable outcome

• Network yield of 70-80% (volume billed/volume produced) maintained across 3,100+ km of water networks
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, secondary and minor.

• Fédération des EPL (Entreprises Publiques Locales)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational federation representing over 1,100 SEMs and SPLs in France, affiliated with the European network of 16,000 local public enterprises (CEEP). Federation's three missions: promoting the local public enterprise movement, developing networks of skills and expertise, and strengthening the performance of local public enterprises. SEMERAP is a member of this federation.
• ADEME (Agence de la transition écologique)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrench Environment and Energy Management Agency. Contributes to the implementation of public environmental policy, including water management and sustainable development initiatives. ADEME supports SEMERAP's environmental certification goals (ISO 14001) and broader sustainability initiatives.
• ARS Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (Agence Régionale de Santé)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional Health Agency responsible for monitoring drinking water quality and sanitation across the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region. Conducts annual water quality assessments published in summary sheets sent to consumers with their bills.
• Conseil Départemental du Puy-de-DômecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDepartmental council of Puy-de-Dôme. Co-finances water and sanitation infrastructure projects. Contributed to the renovation of the Aigueperse wastewater treatment station (2007-2008) alongside the Agence de l'Eau Loire Bretagne.
• FP2E (Fédération Professionnelle des Entreprises de l'Eau)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessional federation of water sector companies. Supports industry standards, professional development, and represents the sector's interests in regulatory discussions.
• FNCCR (Fédération Nationale des Collectivités Concédantes et Régies)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational federation representing local authorities that delegate public services (water, sanitation, energy) and public utility companies. SEMERAP is a member. Supports the public service model and represents member interests at the national level.
• ASTEE (Association scientifique et technique pour l'eau et l'environnement)secondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerScientific and technical association for water and the environment. Provides technical expertise, organizes knowledge-sharing events, and supports professional development in the water sector.
• Agence de l'Eau Loire BretagnecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWater agency for the Loire-Bretagne river basin, responsible for implementing water policy and financing water and sanitation infrastructure projects. SEMERAP's operating territory falls within this agency's jurisdiction. Co-financed the Aigueperse STEU renovation (2007-2008) and other infrastructure projects.
• H2O Sans FrontièressecondaryStrategic or Co-development PartnerWater humanitarian association (Loi 1901) supported by SEMERAP under the 2005 Oudin Law (authorizing international cooperation by local authorities in water and sanitation). Association organizes the Water Festival, provides educational outreach, and conducts cooperation projects with communities in Burkina Faso. SEMERAP's support contributes to international water solidarity initiatives.
• Association SténopéminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPhotography association partnering with SEMERAP for public exhibitions at the Riom headquarters. The 'De l'eau' exhibition (December 2025 - February 2026) featured photography by three young graduates from Lycée La Fayette Clermont-Ferrand on the theme of water.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Veolia Environnement: Global water, waste, and energy services giant with extensive French municipal water contracts via affermage/dSP. Directly competes with SEMERAP for delegated service contracts at the national level, but operates at vastly greater scale and across all utility categories.
• Suez Eau France: Major French water and sanitation operator with significant delegated public service contracts. Competes head-to-head with SEMERAP in affermage tenders, particularly for intercommunal contracts; offers broader municipal services portfolio beyond SEMERAP's regional scope.
• Saur: French private water utility serving municipalities and industries through delegated management contracts. Comparable operating model to SEMERAP (affermage-style delegated service) but operates at national scale and serves a mix of public and private clients.
• Lyonnaise des Eaux: Historic French water utility (part of Suez group) operating delegated public water services nationwide. Provides integrated drinking water, wastewater, and customer services comparable to SEMERAP's offering but at much greater scale across multiple French regions.

Regional players

• Eau de Paris: Public water operator for Paris under régie publique, providing drinking water production and distribution to ~3 million users. Comparable as a publicly owned water utility but operates as a régie (direct municipal service) rather than an SPL, and serves a much larger single urban customer base.
• Régie des Eaux de Marseille: Public water and sanitation operator serving the Marseille metropolitan area. Comparable to SEMERAP as a publicly controlled operator providing integrated water cycle services, but operates on a single large urban territory rather than across rural communes.
• Nantes Métropole - Direction de l'Eau: Public water and sanitation operator for the Nantes metropolitan area under régie. Comparable service scope (drinking water distribution, wastewater treatment, customer billing) but serves an urban métropole rather than SEMERAP's rural and semi-rural communes.

Direct peers

• SPL Eau du Grand Lyon: Société Publique Locale providing drinking water services for the Grand Lyon metropolitan area. Closest structural match to SEMERAP — same SPL legal form, 100% public ownership, delegated management of municipal water infrastructure — but operates at much larger metropolitan scale.

Others

• Fédération des EPL: National federation representing over 1,100 SEMs and SPLs in France, of which SEMERAP is a member. Provides industry advocacy, training, and best-practice sharing among local public enterprises — a key ecosystem participant for SEMERAP rather than a direct competitor.
• Veolia Water Technologies (Severn Trent-style subsidiaries): Technology and services arm providing SCADA/telemetry (TOPKAPI, SOFREL), GIS mapping, and laboratory analysis capabilities used by SEMERAP and similar utilities. Comparable as an ecosystem participant supplying the operational infrastructure SEMERAP depends on, not a direct contract competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SEMERAP1
• Facebookfacebook.com/semerap.fr
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/semerap

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Semerap