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A new story for the invisible world of water

Transforming our relationship with water is not only about developing new technologies, investing in infrastructure, or adapting the way we manage the resource. It also means changing the way we talk about water and the place it holds in our collective imagination.

For too long, much of the water cycle has remained out of sight. When water flows from the tap and wastewater disappears without us having to think about it, it is easy to overlook the infrastructure, expertise and people that make this possible. Yet making these realities visible is essential to understanding the true value of water and the transformations needed to protect it.

This is the ambition behind Transformative Visions: to create new narratives that make complex water challenges easier to understand, help everyone feel concerned and ultimately encourage collective action. Launched as part of the Year of the Sea 2025, the project uses art and storytelling to bring these issues closer to our everyday lives and inspire a shared vision of the water transition.

To bring this new narrative to life, Saur invited artist Muriel Douru to immerse herself in the Group’s activities and turn the experiences of employees into an original booklet, “Saur, the unseen partner in our everyday lives”.

Four perspectives to tell the story of water differently

The graphic novel was officially unveiled on 8 September 2026 at Aquaverse, Saur’s space dedicated to dialogue, learning and collective reflection around water challenges. The event also marked the inauguration of the new Aquaverse at Saur’s headquarters in Issy-les-Moulineaux.

At the heart of the launch was a conference bringing together four complementary perspectives:

Patrick Blethon CEO of Saur;

Patrick Blethon

CEO of Saur

Muriel Douru

Author and illustrator of the booklet

Bénédicte Peyrol

Group Director of CSR, Strategy, Communications, Marketing / Sales and Public affairs

Victor Delage

Founder of Institut Terram, which published a study exploring why the essential infrastructure that supports everyday life often remains invisible to French citizens

Their conversation explored the role of storytelling in changing perceptions of water, the value of the infrastructure and professions that remain largely invisible to citizens, and the importance of making today’s water challenges understandable beyond expert circles.

Stepping inside the booklet

Visitors discovering Muriel Douru’s illustrations at Aquaverse

The story did not stop with the conference.

Throughout Aquaverse, participants were invited to follow an immersive journey through the world of the graphic novel, with large-format visuals bringing Muriel Douru’s illustrations and investigation to life.

The experience continued with informal discussions and opportunities to meet Muriel Douru, exchange around the project and have copies of the booklet signed.

More than a launch event, this moment embodied the ambition behind both Transformative Visions and Aquaverse: creating new spaces and new narratives to make water challenges more accessible and open the conversation to a wider audience.

The launch at Aquaverse marked an important milestone, but the ambition of Transformative Visions goes further.

The graphic novel was designed as an information and awareness tool, connecting employees in the field and at headquarters, different Saur activities and the realities of different territories. It gives readers a more accessible way to understand everything that lies behind the water they use every day.

By combining art with the experiences of those who work with water every day, the project offers another way to talk about this essential resource and the people who protect it.

Because changing the future of water is also about changing the way we see it, understand it and talk about it.