Groundwater management

Highlights

TACTIC* assesses the Impact of climate change on groundwater

BRGM took part in the GeoERA TACTIC project. The objective was to contribute to harmonising assessments of the impact of climate change on groundwater and surface water. The results are intended to support EU policy-making and to provide decision support. Working with twenty partners from seventeen countries, BRGM has contributed to developing a toolbox and methods to assess the impact of climate change, together with a good practice guidebook for their selection and application, and the rollout of the GeoERA information platform.
_{* GeoERA projects co-funded by the European Union as part of the Horizon 2020 programme.}

Example of a result integrated in the EGDI platform: the European map showing potential recharge values. © 2022_GeoERA

Example of a result integrated in the EGDI platform: the European map showing potential recharge values. © GeoERA

HOVER* studies the link between water quality and the geological context

The purpose of the GeoERA HOVER project is to study hydrogeological processes and the geological context controlling the dissolution and transport of natural and anthropogenic elements in groundwater, with particular emphasis on health and the environment. BRGM is project coordinator. The project has made it possible to better characterise the link between water quality and the geological context. A range of methods, models and tools have been developed to facilitate the assessment of water quality at the European level, and to better understand the disparities observed, particularly in terms of the types of aquifer.
_{* GeoERA projects co-funded by the European Union as part of the Horizon 2020programme.}

RESOURCE*: a method to classify karst aquifers and submit recommendations for management

As part of the GeoERA RESOURCE project, BRGM took part in developing a harmonised European methodology for classifying karst aquifers.
A typology has been adopted for managing these aquifers: the reserve index describes the potentially exploitable volume, while the vulnerability index describes sensitivity to pollution. BRGM has developed a tool to automate the digital processing of water level and flow monitoring in order to characterise the hydrodynamic operation of karst aquifers. This tool has already been applied to fifteen cases of karst aquifers across Europe.
_{* GeoERA projects co-funded by the European Union as part of the Horizon 2020programme.}

European map of carbonate rock aquifers with the location of the CHAKA sites studied as part of the project. © GeoERA

AQUAREF, a review of contamination risks in groundwater sampling

BRGM is a member of AQUAREF, the national reference laboratory for monitoring aquatic environments. Over the past fifteen years, BRGM has worked with the other members of the consortium – IFREMER, INERIS, INRAE and LNE – to improve the reliability of water monitoring data. In 2021, BRGM organised an intercomparison exercise on groundwater sampling. This provided a basis on which to review the risks of contamination for complex substances such as phthalates, perfluorinated compounds and certain body care products. BRGM has also provided technical data for the regulatory recognition of passive samplers: demonstration campaigns, guides, training, and reference systems for databases.

Sampling from a reconnaissance borehole (Gaye site). AQUAREF intercomparison test. © BRGM - J.-Ph. Ghestem

A thesis on karst basins to understand flooding

BRGM financed and co-supervised a thesis on karst basins to provide a clearer understanding of flooding processes. The thesis looked at three regions in France and 120 measuring stations. It highlighted the key role of inter-basin underground flows and established a typology of the role of karst in flooding, thereby paving the way for improved modelling of flooding in karst basins for more efficient forecasting.

CTD probe, measuring variations in the water level at the Passage de la Méduse, Aven Castelette (Var). © SpéléoH2O - T. Lamarque

PROMISCES: supporting the deployment of the circular economy by preventing industrial pollution

How can we contribute to the development of a circular economy with zero pollution? This is the aim of PROMISCES, a European project coordinated by BRGM and scheduled to run until 2025 with twenty-seven partners from nine European countries. The project will seek to develop innovative solutions for monitoring, preventing and eliminating persistent pollutants in the environment. To this end, it is studying the origins, transfer pathways and fate of mobile and persistent pollutants such as perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the environment. The focus is on innovative solutions: monitoring methods, prediction and decision-support tools, and new technologies to remove these potentially harmful pollutants from soil, sediment and water, including groundwater.