E-flow guidance and groundwater Didier ‘dHont Balazs Horvath Johan Schutten

Why e-flow guidance? The Blueprint to safeguard Europe’s water resources stressed the urgent need to better address over-abstraction of water, second most common pressure on EU ecological status, and to recognize "that water quality and quantity are intimately related within the concept of ‘good status ’". This would require an EU-wide acknowledgement of the ecological flow, i.e. "the amount of water required for the aquatic ecosystem to continue to thrive and provide the services we rely upon". To achieve this, the Blueprint proposed the development of a guidance document in the framework of the WFD Common Implementation Strategy (CIS) that would provide an EU definition of ecological flow and a common understanding of how it should be calculated, so that ecological flow should be implemented in the next cycle of River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs) due for adoption by the end of 2015. The elaboration of such a guidance document on ecological flows by 2014 was included in the CIS work programme and entrusted to a new dedicated working group that could build on previous CIS activities.

E-flow guidance scope This document aims to be a guidance to stimulate a common uptake of ecological flows in order to support the achievement of the Water Framework Directive’s (WFD) environmental objectives by improving the biological, morphological and hydrological parameters related to quantitative water management, addressing pressures affecting the hydrological regime (e.g. abstractions and impoundments). Covering the whole WFD implementation process, it develops the steps where consideration for ecological flows is critically needed

Lead-up to Trondheim meeting Version 16 June https://circabc.europa.eu/w/browse/4c8b3518-69e1-44a2-afb7-34783fde4a4d Didier input: groundwater section and info on monitoring Hans’ detailed comments: Briefing note to Balazs

After Trondheim.. GW Detailed comments to WG-e-flow (briefing to Balazs) Meeting with e-flow lead (Thomas Petitguoyt) Agree we submit text as text boxes to highlight the most important areas where GW and e-flows interact (add as slide) Agree we discuss at our Rome meeting (final comments)

Next… Many comments from MS Drafting group reworks main messages New Skeleton (17 September) Hans submits comments to Balazs and he agrees with Thomas they will be likely included

Comments from WG GW on 17 September skeleton Groundwater is one of the important supplies of e-flow. Groundwater is especially important as flow provider in the following cases: At the top of catchments, Groundwater is a key component of the flow for a selected series of Natura 2000 habitats and species and thus needs integrating to ensure that the protected area aspects of e-flows is properly considered in specific Natura 2000 river categories (alkaline rivers) and flow contributions in ecologically critical times (for example providing oxygenated gravels in the river for Natura 2000 Salmon to effectively reproduce, and as habitat for Natura 2000 species Pearl mussel) Groundwater contribution to the e-flow should be recognised as a key component during water stress (low flows and drought – in some countries it is a recurrent problem, in others problematic only in river contribution key times (low flow/ during base-flow conditions). Or the other way round: the re-charge of river water to the groundwater can be significant, especially where the groundwater level is low and with high hydraulic connection between river and aquifer (e.g. Donana Spain). At flow-sensitive periods (low flow and drought) the river can lose a significant component of the flow to the ground. 3. Monitoring and modelling needs to consider groundwater where this is applicable, i.e. in the cases above (during low flow situations (drought prone areas, at top of catchments) and in geographical areas with Natura 2000 aquatic habitats and species dependent upon groundwater. 4. Groundwater abstractions can have very significant impacts on the low-flow component of the hydraulic regime, and this thus needs considering as a pressure. With only surface water abstractions mentioned, an important pressure would be missing.

25 September…next full version appeared… version 3.1 (79 pages of updated text) https://circabc.europa.eu/w/browse/f006653b-2662-4f22-b597-1447d8b05da4

Does v31. include GW comments? Hans check text boxes against text (also V3.2 might include) Groundwater IS included in the relevant sections Concepts Pressures monitoring Groundwater is NOT included specifically in the Policy Summary At Groundwater body level / eflow consideration (in next eflow guidance with lakes and estuaries?) Is ‘Surface water as ecologically important as groundwater? (hyporheic zone…) Needs better integration with Surface water pressures and assessment Box by box.. Most text boxes from summer NOT included (as they focussed on GW eflows and GW eflow relation to GWAAE and GWDTE) . This needs to be part of our GWAAE report AND could be part of Eflow guidance (2) on rivers/ estuaries and GW linkage

Action for WG GW V3.1 send to SCG (1 October) for consideration https://circabc.europa.eu/w/browse/f006653b-2662-4f22-b597-1447d8b05da4 V3.2 with updated text circulated around 2 weeks after 26/9 Final comments by 16 October latest (2 weeks from today… So.. WG GW to comment via Didier/Hans? Comments to them by 14/10 latest; Include e-flow considerations in our GWAAE report Next draft group meeting 24 October, London; Aim to finalise text Who will attend from WG GW?