1. French groundwater monitoring networks
Ariane BLUM
French Institute for the Environment (IFEN)
Caroline HENRY de VILLENEUVE
French Ministry for the Environment – Water Direction __ _

2. French groundwater monitoring networks
Introduction
Monitoring of groundwater chemical status
Monitoring of groundwater quantitative status
Workshop on Groundwater Monitoring – Brussels – 25 June 2004

3. Introduction
: institution of a working group (mirror of the WG 2.7)
Technical secretary : IFEN (French Institute for the Environment)
Objectives : improve the networks to fit to the WFD requirements
Field :
WFD (quantitative and chemical) but also..
Water policy
Warning network (flooding, lowest water-level)
September 2003 : publication of the French guidance document on Groundwater Monitoring
2003 : opening of the national groundwater data base : ADES (free access on Internet :
: networks states
Workshop on Groundwater Monitoring – Brussels – 25 June 2004

4. French groundwater monitoring networks
Introduction
Monitoring of groundwater chemical status
Monitoring of groundwater quantitative status
Workshop on Groundwater Monitoring – Brussels – 25 June 2004

5. Monitoring of groundwater chemical status
3 types of networks to be rationalized…
… considering difficulties/french specificities
PATRIMONIAL NETWORK
 WFD Surveillance monitoring
- all groundwater bodies
geological heterogeneity
important depth in some case (800 m)
SANITARY NETWORK
- Drinking Water Directive 98/83/EC
- untreated water
sites
- non representative (sedimentary, alluvium)
IMPACT NETWORKS
 WFD operational monitoring
- nitrates (Directive 91/676/CE)
- pesticides (regional scale)
- ICPE (french regulation on industrial sites  point source pollutions)
- nitrates : the network is not representative
- pesticides : depend on regional practices
- ICPE : regulation objective, no data banking
Workshop on Groundwater Monitoring – Brussels – 25 June 2004

6. Simplified lithological map of French aquifers
Wide heterogeneity
About 6500 aquifers :
regional scale (> 100 km²) : 200
local scale : about 6300
About 500 GWB
Workshop on Groundwater Monitoring – Brussels – 25 June 2004

7. Monitoring of groundwater chemical status
3 types of networks to be rationalized…
… considering difficulties/french specificities
PATRIMONIAL NETWORK
 WFD Surveillance monitoring
- all groundwater bodies
geological heterogeneity
important depth in some case (800 m)
SANITARY NETWORK
- Drinking Water Directive 98/83/EC
- untreated water
sites
- non representative (sedimentary, alluvium)
IMPACT NETWORKS
 WFD operational monitoring
- nitrates (Directive 91/676/CE)
- pesticides (regional scale)
- ICPE (french regulation on industrial sites  point source pollutions)
- nitrates : the network is not representative
- pesticides : depend on regional practices
- ICPE : regulation objective, no data banking
Workshop on Groundwater Monitoring – Brussels – 25 June 2004

8. Monitoring of groundwater chemical status
General strategy : the networks design (sites selection, frequency, parameters) is essentially based on :
understanding of the hydrogeological system (“conceptual model”)
geological type of the GWB :
Sedimentary (confined/unconfined, karst)
Alluvium
granite, volcanism, …
environmental objectives
type and level of pressures
Workshop on Groundwater Monitoring – Brussels – 25 June 2004

9. Monitoring of groundwater chemical status
THE SURVEILLANCE MONITORING NETWORK
RNES = Réseau de connaissance générale des eaux souterraines (1999)
Frequency : 2 levels :
Confined : 1/year
Unconfined : 2/year
Parameters :
 linked to the frequency
2003
Workshop on Groundwater Monitoring – Brussels – 25 June 2004

10. Monitoring of groundwater chemical status
Parameters and frequency
In situ parameters
T°, pH, conductivity, Eh
Major elements
HCO3-, CO32-, Cl- ,SO42-, Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+
Oxydability, suspended solids, COD, Fe, Mn, SiO2, NO3- , NH4+
Mineral pollutants
Sb, As, Al, B, Cd, Cr tot, Cu, CN-, Hg, Ni, Pb, Se, Zn, F
Organic pollutants
Rural
Other pesticides (Organochlorides,…)
Rural or industrial/urban
Pesticide (triazins, urea,…)
Industrial/urban
VOCs, PAHs, phenols
1 or 2 /year
1/ 6 years
Workshop on Groundwater Monitoring – Brussels – 25 June 2004

11. Monitoring of groundwater chemical status
THE SURVEILLANCE MONITORING NETWORK
Sites selection :
Confidence in the conceptual model
Good
Poor
Use the conceptual model
use minimum densities
use springs, rivers
specific methodology to develop
2003
Sedimentary
1240 sites in 2003
Objective : about 1500 in 2006
Granites, gneiss, volcanism
Alluvium
Workshop on Groundwater Monitoring – Brussels – 25 June 2004

12. Monitoring of groundwater chemical status
SANITARY NETWORK
Objective : surveillance of water intended for human consumption (untreated water)
Number of sites : about
Preferentially situated in protected areas
Frequency : from 1/5 years to 12/year
Parameters :
 Different for GW than for surface water
Workshop on Groundwater Monitoring – Brussels – 25 June 2004

13. Monitoring of groundwater chemical status
SANITARY NETWORK
In situ parameters
T°, pH, conductivity, Eh
Major elements
HCO3-, CO32-, Cl- ,SO42-, Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+
Oxydability, suspended solids, COD, Fe, Mn, SiO2, NO3- , NO2, NH4+ , Ptot
Mineral pollutants
Sb, As, B, Cd, Ni, Se, Zn, F
Organic pollutants
pesticides
VOCs, phenols
Biological parameters
E. Choli, Enterocoques
Alpha and beta activity,
Workshop on Groundwater Monitoring – Brussels – 25 June 2004

14. Monitoring of groundwater chemical status
THE NITRATE NETWORK
Objective : vulnerable zones delineation (directive 91/676/CE)
Number of sites : 3052
Not all representative (86% = water intended for human consumption)
Frequency :
1 program / 4 years (1992, 1997, 2000)
For each program : about 4 samples / year
Objective of each site
Human consumption (2626)
Patrimonial (211)
Other (213)
Workshop on Groundwater Monitoring – Brussels – 25 June 2004

15. French groundwater monitoring networks
Introduction
Monitoring of groundwater chemical status
Monitoring of groundwater quantitative status
Workshop on Groundwater Monitoring – Brussels – 25 June 2004

16. Monitoring of groundwater quantitative status
PATRIMONIAL NETWORK
All GWB
Global state
IMPACT NETWORK
Networks for the water policy
Objective : share out water abstractions amongst different uses (agriculture, water consumption, industries, energy)
Local scale
Warning networks :
Flooding
lowest water-level
Workshop on Groundwater Monitoring – Brussels – 25 June 2004

17. Monitoring of groundwater quantitative status
PATRIMONIAL NETWORK
Frequency : minimum
Confined : 1/month
Unconfined : 1/week
automatic systems
Parameters :
Water table level
Spring or river flow (karst, granite)
Sites selection :
Conceptual model
Type and level of pressures
Number of sites :
1073 in 2003
objective : about 1500 in 2006
2003
Workshop on Groundwater Monitoring – Brussels – 25 June 2004

18. Conclusions
2005 – 2006 :
monitoring networks achievment
Link between characterisation results and networks
Improve the level ok knowledge for each point (aquifer, depth, hydrogeological functioning...)
How to use data provided by those networks ?
how to improve data treatment methods?
Research project (IFEN/BRGM/Ecole des Mines) on pesticides GWB contamination
need to harmonise analytical methods (specially for pesticides)
Workshop on Groundwater Monitoring – Brussels – 25 June 2004