GIS Use in Managing Water Resources: The Case of Water Management and Development Areas and River Contracts in France

摘要

The management of water resources has been going through an important phase since the early 1990s, when the Water Act entered into application on January 3, 1992. This Act laid the foundations of strong multi-partner management based on consultation and discussion. These two fundamental processes are based on the pooling of environmental and social information within management areas; their practical effect was thus to set up the organization of the databases necessary before any discussion can take place. Multiple partnerships introduce the element of heterogeneous data sources and thus accentuate the risks of error as to the accuracy and validity of certain data. Faced with this problem, managers have prioritized the introduction of new information technologies (GIS, the Internet, etc.) to improve their projects and develop strategies to enhance water quality. The absence of reliable information tracing the path of environmental data from creation to end-use is a noticeable shortcoming for many managers. Most water management organizations feel the need for reliable data organization so as to gain maximum value when developing water quality enhancement schemes. GIS solutions currently on offer provide only partial responses to managers' expectations, and many organizations are handicapped by the lack of certain data categories which would be extremely useful to management, such as metadata, finance, indicators, and user information, the last-named being one of the main EU water directive (DCE) recommendations. This paper introduces part of the author's research on water management and outlines the "E-Age", software application designed in partnership with the managers of Water Management and Development Areas (SAGE) and River Contracts.