Quantity of the resource

Value (flow rate of streams, groundwater level, reserve storage, etc) necessary for the quantitative management of the resource. The quantity goals are set to achieve a satisfactory balance between the demands of human activities and the requirements of aquatic environments on the one hand; and the surface and groundwater resources that can be mobilized, on the other. At nodal points, these values are the

Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy, commonly known as the Water Framework Directive (WFD). It sets out environmental objectives and deadlines to improve the ecological and chemical status of surface water bodies as well as the quantitative status and chemical status of groundwater bodies. Some water bodies created by human activity or having their characteristics fundamentally modified by human activity, may be designated respectively as artificial water bodies (AWB) or heavily modified water bodies (HMWB). In this case, their characteristics and ecological functioning are described by an ecological potential. The WFD especially sets the general goal to achieve "

In the strict sense, it is taking a sample (sampling) for analysis or testing. More generally, water withdrawals include all abstractions related to activities generated by agriculture, industry (including energy), drinking water supply, or others (authorized spring of mineral water, production of artificial snow). In this case, the withdrawals are grouped into 3 subtypes corresponding to the affected environment: surface water withdrawals, groundwater abstractions, seawater withdrawals.

The piezometric record is the collecting of the evolutions in time of the monitored groundwater level or piezometric level (see piezometric level). It consists of measurements that link the water level to a given date. Depending on the variability of groundwater level, the measurements are more or less close in time. The measurements obtained are positive or negative with respect to the measurement benchmark: they are positive when the groundwater level is below the benchmark measurement (the most common cases) and negative in the opposite case (artesian wells). Artesian: a well is artesian when the water is gushing. A record is represented by a curve which is time-slotted to be stored in a succession of points, each point representing a groundwater level at any given time. Points are linked to each other by means of a code that indicates whether a point is related to the preceding point in time. If the point is not related, it is then the initial point of a new part of the record…

Elevation defined either in NGF level (French levelling network) or in relative depth. The NGF level, established under the control of the National Geographic Institute (IGN), is the reference. NGF can indeed express altitudes in one and unique reference system, i.e. as compared to the same and unique fundamental point (or "origin-zero" or point zero). The "0" level is the average sea level in Marseilles. This point is used to determine the altitude of any other point. The elevation of the piezometric record can also be expressed in relative depth with respect to the benchmark of the

According to the hydro-geological meaning, a water volume supplying an aquifer over a given time. Rainfalls are mainly recharging groundwater. Unconfined groundwaters are recharged rather fast at each rainfall event. The rise in water levels and rainfall events are observed on a piezometric curve.