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Analysis comparing the benefits to all the costs of a given project and of its alternatives, including the impacts that are not submitted to monetary flows (often regarding the environment). The "Cost-Benefit" analysis is a decision-making supporting tool providing objective evidence to the debate. Depending on the value of the benefit/cost ratio, the evaluated project is deemed profitable or not.

Economic activity that uses water and services related to water use.

Value of lost opportunities due to the choice of the resource allocation to an activity rather than to another when the resource is scarce. This is the difference in benefits between the alternative that generates the greatest benefits and the alternative chosen.

Principle established in the Environmental Code, whereby the costs arising from measures to prevent, reduce and control environmental pollution must be borne by the polluter.

Measurement which subtracts from the usual gross domestic product (GDP) the decrease in the stock of natural resources (e.g. water resources). This accounting method would allow having better knowledge about whether an economic activity increases or lowers national wealth when it uses natural resources. However, economists believe that it could be difficult to establish this new indicator.

According to this principle, the water users bear as much as possible the costs incurred by their water uses: investment, operating and depreciation costs, environmental costs, and even, if possible, the cost of the resource. This principle is called "cost recovery". On this principle, the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC sets two targets for Member States: by late 2004, the assessment should include the current level of recovery, distinguishing at least three economic sectors (industry, agriculture and households); by 2010, the taking into account of this principle, particularly through water pricing. The Directive requires transparency in the financing of water policy, but it does not set an obligation to full cost recovery on uses.

Total cost of water, including environmental cost, the cost of the resource and the cost of service.

Costs incurred by an activity at the expense of another activity, of an environment, etc, and uncompensated or not supported by those who generate them. Under the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC, we are interested in external environmental costs of services related to water use and more generally water-related activities (withdrawals, discharges, developments, etc); e.g. the costs of exploration and exploitation of new resources due to the pollution of previously exploited groundwater are actually and ultimately supported by the subscribers to drinking water supply services on the price per cubic metre. One of the great practices of environmental economy is to reintegrate externalities into market exchange, externalities are internalized. In other words, environmental degradation (pollution, overexploitation, etc) is included into the prices that otherwise is ignored.