Lessons from Twenty Years of Local Volumetric Groundwater Management: The Case of the Beauce Aquifer, Central France

Abstract

With an area of nearly 10,000 km2, the Beauce aquifer is one of France’s major groundwater reservoirs. This unconfined aquifer is used for drinking water, industry and for irrigation. Following a succession of dry years in the 1990s, the water table significantly dropped achieving the lowest groundwater levels ever observed and drying up several groundwater dependent watercourses. This triggered the development of an innovative groundwater management scheme. Volumetric meters were installed in 1994 and volumetric quotas were allocated in 1998. Quotas are now adjusted depending on resource condition at the beginning of the year. Allocation rules have been validated by the Local Water Management Commission which represents all users and the State.