A century-old public company
In the mid-19th century, the water utility of the City of Brussels supplied water to its territory and supplied water to neighbouring municipalities. Within a short time, resources were no longer sufficient.
In 1891, the municipalities of Auderghem, Ixelles, Koekelberg, La Hulpe, Saint-Gilles, Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, Schaerbeek, Uccle and Watermael-Boitsfort established the CIE: Compagnie Intercommunale des Eaux de lâAgglomĂ©ration bruxelloise.
The intermunicipal association changed its name twice: it became the Compagnie Intercommunale Bruxelloise des Eaux (CIBE) in 1909 and VIVAQUA in 2006.
In 1933, it merged with the water utility of the City of Brussels.
The original nine municipalities were gradually joined by all the municipalities of Brussels, four Walloon municipalities and around fifteen Flemish municipalities. The latter left VIVAQUA in 2018.
Since its establishment, VIVAQUA has adapted its production methods to meet the needs of its customers, both qualitatively and quantitatively. In more than 130 years, it has never had to interrupt its customersâ water supply, thanks to our 26 catchment sites, sufficient storage capacity and an interconnected network.
The company is today one of the largest Belgian water producers with some 130 million mÂł/year, supplied to more than 2.25 million inhabitants in the three Regions of the country.
In the early 2000s, VIVAQUA expanded its areas of activity. Today, it also manages sewer networks and flood control throughout the Brussels Region.
For nearly three decades, VIVAQUA has carried out distribution and drainage-related activities in the Brussels Region on behalf of HYDROBRU. In 2018, the two intermunicipal associations merged. VIVAQUA became the sole water utility for Brussels residents.