Review of knowledge on water resources in the area covered by the Aube departmental water authority

The results

An assessment was carried out of the degree of available general knowledge on the water resources in the area covered by the SDDEA, encompassing all aspects: geology, hydrogeological characteristics, water quantity and quality, climate data, anthropogenic pressure, etc. The organisation and structuring of this information were also examined.

Inventory and data collection

The first phase consisted in drawing up an inventory and collecting data. There is currently a vast amount of knowledge about the water resources in this study area, together with a mass of associated data. Despite this knowledge being somewhat disparate at times, depending on the sector, this general review gave a reasonably optimistic picture of the feasibility of developing a spatial hydrodynamic model which, coupled with a management tool, will meet the strategic objectives of the SDDEA.

This data collection phase also identified a number of obstacles and constraints to be overcome in order to maximise the chances of producing the most realistic (and therefore relevant) hydrogeological model possible.

In addition, this long and painstaking work highlighted the need, on a regional scale, to unite all the water stakeholders around a common goal. This network must be set up in order to remove the barriers to data collection and guarantee their quality and usability. 

Lastly, this approach showed the benefits to local stakeholders of contributing to national databases, most of which can be accessed via the Hub'Eau API. These bases can be easily used and exploited, including to meet local objectives, and already contain a wealth of relevant data.

Analysis of local and national data

The second phase, which focused on analysing the local and national data collected for this review, led to a number of findings, the main ones being: 

• poor digital transposition of local knowledge,  
• a high degree of uncertainty regarding the data on abstractions, 
• a generally satisfactory level of knowledge and usability in terms of geology, characterisation of aquifers, and data on the quantity and quality of water resources.

Specific recommendations were issued to improve this knowledge, on a case-by-case basis and according to each major geological context.

Implementation of a demonstrator

Lastly, throughout the project, discussions were held in parallel on implementing a demonstrator to facilitate the transition from a simple view of all the data collected to a true understanding of the areas covered, through specific features to meet technical needs.

This demonstrator was designed on the basis of a business model that aggregates the water data for an area (according to a business intelligence approach) and has a scalable attribute structure in order to integrate the production of knowledge rendering indicators of work progress (a component specific to the future management tool). It will also incorporate an API that will ultimately be used for adding data to the model (an innovative component based on feeding the model with dynamic data flows).

Using the results

The knowledge base established for this first action will serve as a basis for the others decided in the SDDEA-BRGM framework agreement, in particular those actions seeking to improve the networks monitoring water quantity and quality, to develop the hydrodynamic model and associated management tool, and to create a tool for disseminating and promoting knowledge.