Groundwater indicator: from

zero to hero

Didier D’hont

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Reminder of objectives of

WG WS&D • To further analyse and address the list of

pending issues • Indicators and risk maps

• Establish drought phases and structural water scarcity,

• recommend measures to include in the drought management plans

• minimize WS&D socio-economic and environmental impacts.

• Analyse the feasibility of the use of European indicator frameworks for regional and local assessments.

• To function as forum for WS&D issues and, where appropriate, to provide advice on WS&D issues to Water Directors via the Strategic Coordination Group.

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Tasks

• Support the definition of commonly accepted indicators for water scarcity and for droughts) in Europe including the demonstration of the added value of these indicators.

• Exchange information on WS&D in the first river basin management plans.

• Transfer and exchange experience and expertise with international fora/other regions.

• Contribute to the development of the European Drought Observatory (EDO) under development at JRC.

• Support the creation of Drought Risk Maps, through commonly agreed methodology and scales.

• Support the development of a progressive integration of WS&D aspects under WISE, on voluntary basis.

• Link WS&D policies and strategies with research initiatives, especially within the FP7 framework (e.g. XEROCHORE project) and promote the use of appropriate technological tools. This can be done in close collaboration with the future SPI ad hoc activity.

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Fact sheets agreed upon:

• SPI (standardised precipitation index)

• fAPAR (fraction of absorbed

photosynthetically active radiation)

• WEI + (water exploitation index)

• But no threshold values

• Still doubts on definition

• Endorsement by Water Directors May

2012

• New CIS-structure 2013: no WG WS&D

But…work was in progress

on groundwater indicator…

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Nearly finished but just not

yet...

Water Directors June 2014

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• Endorsement of

• Snowpack

• SRI (standardised run-off

index)

• Soil moisture

• Thresholds WEI+ in WG

water accounts

• Finalising fact sheet GW

indicator in WG

Groundwater, lead by BE

Groundwater indicator: history

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• Goal: awareness raising indicator for water

scarcity and drought (in combination with

other indicators)

• In WG WS&D: lead by F, with cooperation

of UK, BE

• Tested by several countries (ES, PO, FI,…)

• General acceptance and agreement of

usefulness (but doubt in NL)

Contents (1)

• Key message: importance of groundwater

• Relevance of indicator to drought and/or

water scarcity

• Overall assessment of gw levels in aquifers

• Policy relevance:

• WFD: one of scientific elements for assessing

quantity status

• Communication of EC on WS&D

• Blueprint 8

Contents (2)

• Period of return of average monthly level

observed

• Five quantiles:

• Reference period: at least 12 consecutive

years

• Completion by GW level change between

before last and current month 9

Contents (3)

• Spatial scale:

• Implementation of station network is key

factor

• Could be calculated for phreatic and confined

aquifers

• Could be calculated – if enough point data

available – for groundwater body

• Temporal scale: monthly (based on

average or daily values)

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Contents (4)

• Methodology for calculation of indicator

• Methodology for data manipulation

• Quality of information: dependent on

quality of data

• Presentation of data: graphs or maps

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Contents (5)

• Indicator should be “simple” to understand

“Oh, if only it were so simple”

Compare with historical

records of same month

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Compare with all historical

records

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compare with previous month

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Monthly map

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Conclusion

• Ask for approval of groundwater indicator

to include in set of indicators for water

scarcity and drought

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