SM3A - EPTB Arve

Name

SM3A - EPTB Arve

Legal name

SM3A - Syndicat Mixte d'Aménagement de l'Arve et de ses Affluents

Website

https://sm3a.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Saint-Pierre-en-Faucigny

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Public Funding and Subsidies: SM3A operates as a public syndicate funded through member contributions from 13 intercommunalités, government subsidies (État), and water agency funding (Agence de l'eau Rhône Méditerranée Corse). The PAPI (Programme d'Action de Prévention des Inondations) provides national flood prevention policy funding.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

SM3A is a French public syndicate (syndicat mixte) that manages the Arve river basin on behalf of 93 communes grouped into 13 intercommunalities. It delivers three core competencies — flood prevention, aquatic environment management, and watercourse maintenance — covering 2,074 km² of alpine watershed through surveillance of 54 km of protection infrastructure, ecological continuity works, wetland conservation, and sediment management.

Product overview

SM3A operates as a unified public water management organization offering three interconnected core services: flood prevention, aquatic environment management, and watercourse maintenance. These services are supported by complementary offerings including a cartographic portal for spatial data access and the recreational Chemin de l'Arve trail infrastructure. The organization manages a 2,074 km² watershed serving 93 communes across 13 intercommunalities, with approximately 40 multidisciplinary agents implementing integrated water cycle projects.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Prévention des inondations (Flood Prevention) Comprehensive flood risk prevention services for the Arve river basin, including daily surveillance and maintenance of 54 km of flood protection structures, annual technical inspections, post-flood assessments, and the multi-year PAPI (Programme d'Action de Prévention des Inondations) program running through 2020-2026. Served to member communes and intercommunalities.
• Gestion des milieux aquatiques (Aquatic Environment Management) Management of aquatic environments focused on improving river conditions, preserving biodiversity, protecting water resources, and restoring ecological continuity, including fish passage works and management of 1,496 wetland zones covering 33.4 km². Served to member communes and intercommunalities.
• Entretien des cours d'eau (Watercourse Maintenance) Multi-year maintenance plans for rivers across the basin including riparian vegetation management, scheduled pruning, debris jam management, sediment dynamics control, and river morphology restoration to prevent flooding and maintain ecological balance. Served to member communes and intercommunalities.
• Le Chemin de l'Arve (Arve River Trail) A pedestrian and cycling path stretching from Col de Balme to Gaillard along the Arve river, offering more than 95 km of trail segments for outdoor recreation and environmental discovery. Served to the general public and basin communities.
• Portail cartographique (Cartographic Portal) Interactive mapping platform providing access to water measurement stations, territory visualization, and spatial data related to Arve river basin management. Served to basin stakeholders and the general public.

Quantifiable outcome

• Surveillance and maintenance of 54 km of flood protection structures
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Agence de l'eau Rhône Méditerranée CorsecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPublic water agency providing financial support for water and environment protection. Receives water taxes from all users and reinvests in watershed management projects via the Contrat Global du Bassin versant de l'Arve.
• Département de la Haute-SavoiecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDepartmental authority playing a leading role in protecting environment. Lead for Natural Sensitive Spaces animation, with ambitious conservation policy. Long-standing partner since river contract, now partner for ENS Alluviaux territory contract.
• Région Auvergne Rhône-AlpescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional authority collaborating on environmental preservation. Deployment of 'plan pêche et milieux aquatiques' renewed in 2023 for aquatic environment preservation and restoration actions.
• L'État (French State)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFrench government providing financial support through PAPI contracts and daily accompaniment. Includes DREAL, DDT, and Ministry of Ecological Transition.
• Office Français de la Biodiversité (OFB)majorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerFrench biodiversity agency supporting aquatic environment and biodiversity protection initiatives in the watershed.
• République et Canton de GenèvemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwiss canton with cross-border cooperation on Arve watershed management, particularly relevant for downstream areas near Geneva.
• Fédération de pêche de Haute-SavoiemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFishing federation providing expertise on aquatic species, fishing activities, and milieus aquatiques protection. Key partner for river ecosystem monitoring.
• Chambre d'agricultureminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerAgricultural chamber collaborating on land use practices affecting watercourses and wetland areas in the watershed.
• FNE (France Nature Environnement)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnvironmental NGO federation contributing to wetland studies and nature protection initiatives in the watershed.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• EPTB Loire: Public EPTB coordinating integrated water resource management across the Loire basin, including flood prevention plans, ecological continuity, and multi-stakeholder governance analogous to SM3A's Arve model. Comparable in scope, legal form, and public funding structure.
• EPTB Seine Grands Lacs: French Établissement Public Territorial de Bassin managing flood prevention and water resource regulation across the Seine basin, including the major Lac-Réservoir infrastructure. Directly comparable to SM3A as a public EPTB executing GEMAPI competencies at watershed scale.
• EPTB Dordogne: Public EPTB implementing coordinated water management across the Dordogne basin with flood prevention, aquatic environment, and watercourse maintenance competencies. Comparable institutional form and member-driven governance to SM3A.
• EPTB Saône-Doubs: EPTB structure coordinating Saône and Doubs basin management with flood prevention, aquatic environment, and watercourse maintenance missions directly analogous to SM3A's three core competencies. Similar syndicate-based governance and PAPI programme participation.
• Symbhi (EPAGE Isère): Syndicat Mixte du Bassin Hydraulique de l'Isère, a public syndicate managing flood protection works and hydraulic infrastructure along the Isère river in the French Alps. Closely comparable to SM3A in mountainous Alpine context, infrastructure-heavy mandate, and public funding model.
• Syndicat Mixte de la Durance (SMGDE / SMAVD): Public syndicate managing the Durance river in southeastern France, executing GEMAPI competencies and coordinating flood protection works at basin scale. Comparable legal structure and operational scope to SM3A, though on a larger river system.
• EPTB Garonne: Public EPTB coordinating Garonne basin water management with flood prevention and aquatic environment competencies analogous to SM3A. Similar governance and reliance on multi-level public funding partnerships.

Others

• Agence de l'eau Rhône Méditerranée Corse: French water agency that is a core funding partner of SM3A through the Contrat Global du Bassin versant de l'Arve. Comparable as a public water governance body operating at the basin scale; functions as ecosystem participant/funder rather than direct competitor.
• Office Français de la Biodiversité (OFB): French national biodiversity agency that partners with SM3A on aquatic environment and biodiversity protection. Not a basin manager but an enabling regulatory and technical partner with overlapping mandate in ecological continuity and species protection.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sm3a---eptb-arve---syndicat-mixte-d'am%C3%A9nagement-de-l'arve-et-de-ses-affluents

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

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 SM3A - EPTB Arve