CISALB

What CISALB does

CISALB (Comité intercommunautaire Pour l'Assainissement du lac du Bourget) is a French public intercommunal syndicate established in 1974 to manage aquatic environments and water resources at the scale of the Lake Bourget watershed in the Savoie department. It holds the EPAGE (Établissement public d'aménagement et de gestion des eaux) label conferred in June 2019, which grants it the exclusive institutional mandate to exercise the GEMAPI (Gestion des Milieux Aquatiques et Prévention des Inondations) competence across a 580 km² territory covering 64 communes, 6 EPCI members, more than 220,000 inhabitants, and over 1,000 km of rivers. CISALB is governed by a syndical council composed of elected officials from its member EPCIs (Grand Chambéry, Grand Lac, Cœur de Chartreuse, Grand Annecy, Cœur de Savoie, Rumilly Terre de Savoie).

The organization's core activities span four mission areas: (1) water management and quality improvement, including lake monitoring since 1974 and phosphorus load tracking toward reoligotrophization targets (31.2T phosphorus input in 2019 versus a 30T annual target); (2) flood prevention under the PAPI 2021-26 program, including dike management and river maintenance; (3) aquatic environment restoration and natural heritage protection; and (4) public education through the Aqualis interpretive center in Aix-les-Bains (holder of the 2023 'Musée Joyeux' label), citizen science programs such as 'En quête d'eau' run with OFB, and school programming. Scientific monitoring is conducted in partnership with INRAE (annual plankton, water, and fish sampling) and the fishing federation (AAPPMA). The technology stack is conventional ecological monitoring rather than digital or AI-enabled.

CISALB does not operate a commercial business model. It is funded through multi-year institutional contracts — four watershed contracts to date totaling €275M+ (€80M 2002-2009, €110M 2011-2017, €65M 2019-2022, €20M 2023-2024) — financed principally by the Agence de l'Eau Rhône-Méditerranée-Corse (the dominant institutional funder), supplemented by the French state, the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, and member EPCIs. The upcoming Contrat Eau & Climat 2026-28 continues this contract-based funding architecture. With approximately 10 employees, CISALB is a small coordinating body that channels substantially larger program budgets through partnerships with contractors, research institutions, and local actors. Marie-Claire Barbier has served as President since September 2020, succeeding Michel Dantin.

Name

CISALB

Legal name

Comité intercommunautaire Pour l'Assainissement du lac du Bourget

Website

https://cisalb.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CISALB is a French public intercommunal syndicate (EPAGE) that manages aquatic environments, flood prevention, and water quality across the 580 km² Lake Bourget watershed serving 64 communes and 220,000+ inhabitants, funded by institutional contracts with the Agence de l'Eau and state partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Water Management and Flood Prevention

NAICS

Administration of Air and Water Resource and Solid Waste Management Programs (924110), Administration of Environmental Quality Programs (9241)

SIC

Water Supply (4941)

akta.pro primary industry

Environmental Protection Agencies & Environmental Health Departments (HLAJAFAA)

Keywords

• Water resource management
• Flood prevention services
• Aquatic environment protection
• Watershed management
• Public water authority

Headquarters

HQ city

Chambéry

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Public funding and institutional subsidies: CISALB operates as a public intercommunal water management body (EPAGE) funded through multi-year contracts with institutional partners including the Agence de l'Eau Rhône-Méditerranée-Corse, the French state, and regional authorities. These contracts support infrastructure, restoration, and water management projects across the watershed.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

CISALB is a French public intercommunal syndicate (EPAGE) that delivers integrated water management, flood prevention, aquatic environment protection, and public environmental education across the 580 km² Lake Bourget watershed. It executes multi-year institutional contracts (Contrat Eau & Climat, PAPI, PGRE, PTGE) covering river restoration, levee management, water quality monitoring, resource allocation, and drought response, and operates the Aqualis interpretive center for public engagement.

Product overview

CISALB operates as a public intermunicipal association dedicated to water management and aquatic environment protection for the Lac du Bourget basin. Its digital ecosystem includes the main Cisalb Website providing information and public services, the Aqualis interpretive center and museum, and various specialized programs including the Contrat Eau & Climat and PAPI flood prevention initiatives. The organization offers lake monitoring services, public engagement tools, and environmental surveys to serve its mission of protecting and sharing water resources across 580 km² of watershed area.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Aqualis: Museum dedicated to the Lake Bourget experience, located in Aix-les-Bains. It is an interpretation center for the Lake Bourget managed by CISALB.

Products and services

• Aqualis — Lake Bourget Interpretation Center and Museum Interactive interpretive center and museum dedicated to Lake Bourget, offering guided visits, educational activities for schools and the general public, escape games, temporary exhibitions, and the annual Journée locale de l'eau. Located in Aix-les-Bains and recognized with the 'Musée Joyeux' label in 2023.

Quantifiable outcome

• 31.2T phosphorus input maintained in 2019, close to the 30T annual target needed for lake reoligotrophization
• +2 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• DDT (Direction Départementale des Territoires)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe DDT works with CISALB to ensure that projects align with SDAGE objectives and contribute to achieving good ecological status of water bodies. DDT participates in contract construction and project validation.
• Conservatoire des espaces naturels de SavoieminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partner in developing the temporary exhibition on reed beds at Aqualis, bringing expertise on natural space conservation to the interpretive programming.
• Grand ChambérycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of the 6 EPCI members and key co-contracting partner for water infrastructure projects. Together with Grand Lac and the CEN Savoie, Grand Chambéry co-develops watershed operations within institutional contracts.
• Grand LaccoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of the 6 EPCI members, collaborating with CISALB on watershed projects. Co-develops operations in the 2023-2024 contract alongside CISALB, Grand Chambéry, and CEN Savoie.
• INRAE (Institut national de recherche pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerScientific research partner conducting ecological monitoring of Lake Bourget. INRAE performs annual water sampling, plankton analysis, and fish population assessments, contributing data to CISALB's observatory.
• OFB (Office français de la biodiversité)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrench biodiversity agency collaborating on aquatic environment management, pollution response, and the participatory science program 'En quête d'eau'. Mobilized during pollution incidents (e.g., Erier accident, March 2026) alongside SDIS, police, and fishing federations.
• Grand AnnecyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of the 6 EPCI members within the watershed governance structure, participating in the watershed committee alongside the 65 mayors of the basin.
• Cœur de ChartreuseminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of the 6 EPCI members within the watershed governance structure, participating in the watershed committee alongside the 65 mayors of the basin.
• Cœur de SavoieminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of the 6 EPCI members within the watershed governance structure, participating in the watershed committee alongside the 65 mayors of the basin.
• Rumilly Terre de SavoieminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of the 6 EPCI members within the watershed governance structure, participating in the watershed committee alongside the 65 mayors of the basin.
• Fédération de pêche / AAPPMAminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal fishing federation collaborating on pollution incident response (e.g., Erier 2026), fish rescue operations, and fish population monitoring. Provides data on catches and species presence for the scientific observatory.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• EPTB Rhône: Public body coordinating water management on the Rhône axis, directly comparable to CISALB in institutional form and operating territory within the same Agence de l'Eau Rhône-Méditerranée-Corse catchment.
• EPTB Loire: Public establishment coordinating water management and flood prevention across the Loire basin, the longest river in France. Shares CISALB's mandate for coordinated intercommunal water governance, large-scale contract management, and EU Water Framework Directive implementation.
• EPTB Seine Grands Lacs: Public establishment managing water resource regulation and flood prevention across the Seine basin, including major reservoir infrastructure. Operates under the same EPTB/EPAGE institutional model as CISALB but at a larger scale, serving as a direct functional peer for integrated watershed governance.
• EPIDOR (EPTB Dordogne): Public establishment dedicated to integrated water management and hydro-environmental heritage along the Dordogne river. Comparable to CISALB as a publicly mandated basin body with similar multi-year contract funding and intercommunal coordination responsibilities.
• EPTB Saône-Doubs: French public territorial basin establishment (EPTB) with an analogous role coordinating water management, flood prevention, and ecological restoration across the Saône-Doubs watershed. Directly comparable as a publicly mandated water management body operating under the same French regulatory framework (SDAGE, GEMAPI).
• EPTB Garonne: Public establishment coordinating water and flood management across the Garonne watershed. Shares CISALB's regulatory mandate, multi-stakeholder governance model, and reliance on Agence de l'Eau co-financing for major watershed contracts.

Others

• INRAE: French national research institute for agriculture, food, and environment, conducting the scientific Lake Bourget monitoring partnership with CISALB. Ecosystem enabler providing the data backbone that supports CISALB's watershed management decisions.
• Agence de l'Eau Rhône-Méditerranée-Corse: Public water agency that co-finances CISALB's watershed contracts and sets the policy framework for water management in the region. Functions as the primary funding and regulatory counterpart to CISALB, providing a downstream perspective on the same institutional ecosystem.

Broad incumbents

• Veolia Water Technologies & Solutions: Global private water services and technology provider operating across municipal water management, treatment, and distribution. A broader incumbent in the water sector that highlights the private-sector scaling path adjacent to CISALB's public mandate, useful as a sector benchmark.
• SUEZ Water Technologies & Solutions: Major international water and waste management operator serving municipalities and industrial clients. Comparable as a broader incumbent in water resource management, providing a reference for the operating scale that fully privatized water management could achieve.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/Cisalblacdubourget
• Facebookfacebook.com/cisalb
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cisalb

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 CISALB