Glossaire de A à Z

Limit beyond which the water spills into the floodplain. It corresponds to the high-flow (or morphogenetic flow). Calculating the width of the bankfull discharge bed is a convenient measurement unit to describe the relationship between the size of the watercourse and its

Assembly gathering different public or private stakeholders, acting in the field of water in a basin or group of basins. The basin committee is consulted on the opportunity of significant activities of common interest planned in the basin, more generally, on all issues related to the management of water and aquatic environments. It defines the orientations of the water agency's actions and participates in its financial decision-making. It approves the assessment and river basin management plan (SDAGE) and prepares the register…

Prefect of the region in which the basin committee has its home office. The Basin Coordinator Prefect facilitates and coordinates State policy regarding water law enforcement and water resources management in order to achieve unity and consistency in decentralized government actions on these issues in the regions and Departments concerned. He approves the river basin

Position of the regional director in charge of the environment working at the side of the Basin Coordinator Prefect. He helps the basin coordinator prefect in his tasks, takes care of the secretariat of the Basin Administrative Commission, facilitates and coordinates the activities of the decentralized government services involved in water and provides advice and technical assistance to basin organizations. He is member of the River-basin district level. He is especially in charge, under the authority of the Basin Coordinator Prefect, of the following tasks: to…

Document describing for each hydrographical basin the multi actor collaboration and the means required to build the information system for water (SIE). The plan must approach the production, the collect and the availability of data. It is approved by the prefect, after the consultation of the basin comity, the SIE users comity and the permanent commission of the CNE.

Basket, built by the statistical institutes, to monitor change in price levels for a number of products, weighted by their share in consumption. Price monitoring is done by permanent survey and sample.

All the natural environments and life forms (plants, animals, fungi, bacteria, etc.), as well as all the relationships and interactions that exist, on the one hand, between the living organisms themselves, and on the other, between these organisms and their living environments.

Large area that has relatively homogeneous ecological conditions (including climate) with common characteristics in terms of group of species. Under the habitats, fauna and flora directive, the European Union has eleven terrestrial biogeographic regions and the seven marine biogeographical regions. France is affected by four terrestrial regions (Atlantic, Alpine, Continental and Mediterranean) and two marine regions (Atlantic and Mediterranean marine).

A living species which, by its presence or absence, abundance or scarcity, allow to assess the degree of pollution of water or air. (e.g : lichens for the atmosphere, salmonids for rivers, etc.)

Specie or group of species whose observed characteristics (occurrence, abundance, biomass, biological traits, etc.) provide an indication of the level of environmental degradation. A bioindicator is therefore subject to measures to indicate the presence or effects of pollutants and thus allows the quality of the environment in which it is collected to be assessed. It can be considered complementary (especially for the spatial distribution of pollution, the characterization of synergies, the gradual pollution, etc.) of networks of physicochemical measurements.

Process used for the wastewater treatment (by biofiltration) or to eliminate gaseous pollutants dissolved in the water, or to filter surface water in order to make it potable.

According to section I-1° of Article L. 214-17 of the Environmental Code, it means a river, a part of river or canal that comprises one or more spawning or habitats of species of phytoplankton,

All living organisms (flora, fauna and fungi, and microorganisms such as bacteria, yeasts, microfungi ...) present in a habitat (natural or semi-natural) or biotope individual or a place or a particular region. Biota includes the description of the organization of species and species richness.

Space characterized by climate, geographical, physical, morphological and geological factors, ... in constant or cyclic equilibrium and occupied by organisms that live in specific association (living communities). This is the non-living component (abiotic) of the ecosystem.

Order established by the department prefect to implement measures to conserve biotopes such as ponds, marshes, swamps, heathland, dunes, groves, hedgerows, lawns and any natural formation not exploited by humans since these biotopes are necessary for reproduction, feeding, rest, survival of protected species. The biotope protection order is particularly adapted to deal with emergency situations of destruction or significant modification of an area.

Domestic wastewater from toilets, generated during the evacuation of faeces and urine and which, as a result, contains a high concentration of organic matter and micro-organisms.

National Code of Sub-Soil (BSS) assigned by the Office of Geological and Mining Research (BRGM) to underground structures including water abstractions. Established according to the principle of positioning a point on a 1:50,000 geological map, the BSS code is of the following form: 08035X0398 / F. The characteristics that are associated with it (geographic coordinates, depth and geological profile) are then used to precisely locate each intake and identify the abstracted groundwater.