France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, the schéma directeur d'aménagement et de gestion des eaux (SDAGE) is a document that aims to put into effect the principles of the law of 3 January 1992 on the level of the major hydrographic

basins Basin may refer to: Geography and geology * Depression (geology) ** Back-arc basin, a submarine feature associated with island arcs and subduction zones ** Debris basin, designed to prevent damage from debris flow ** Drainage basin (hydrology), ...

. In translation, its name is outline for the organization of the development and management of water resources.

Rationale

Water Water is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula . It is a transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance. It is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known liv ...

is a part of the nation's common heritage. Its protection, exploitation and setting into a usable state while respecting natural balances, are of general interest. The use of water belongs to all, within the framework of laws and regulations as well as of rights already established.

The law

The main subjects addressed by the SDAGE are written into the law: * preservation of aquatic ecosystems, their sites and

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

s, * protection against any

pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause harm. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the component ...

and restoration of the quality of the water, * development and protection of the resource as

drinking water Drinking water or potable water is water that is safe for ingestion, either when drunk directly in liquid form or consumed indirectly through food preparation. It is often (but not always) supplied through taps, in which case it is also calle ...

* exploitation of water as an economic resource and sharing that resource. The SDAGE scheme was drawn up together by the national, regional and département governments and is managed by the ''agence de l'eau'' (water agency).

How it works

The SDAGE serves as a general framework for the development and management of the water of each hydrographic unit, system or

aquifer An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing material, consisting of permeability (Earth sciences), permeable or fractured rock, or of unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Aquifers vary greatly in their characteristics. The s ...

). These are the schémas d'aménagement et de gestion des eaux (SAGE), that is water resource development and management outlines. The aquifer and the hydro-electric and recreational uses of water in the

Ain Ain (, ; ) is a French department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Eastern France. Named after the Ain river, it is bordered by the Saône and Rhône rivers. Ain is located on the country's eastern edge, on the Swiss border, where it ...

valley compose a clear example of a site where a coordinated approach could be productive. However, the ''schéma'' is flexible enough to include specific needs as for example, that of

Artois Artois ( , ; ; Picard: ''Artoé;'' English adjective: ''Artesian'') is a region of northern France. Its territory covers an area of about 4,000 km2 and it has a population of about one million. Its principal cities include Arras (Dutch: ...

Picardy Picardy (; Picard language, Picard and , , ) is a historical and cultural territory and a former regions of France, administrative region located in northern France. The first mentions of this province date back to the Middle Ages: it gained it ...

, which is concerned specifically with the former mining basin of the

Nord Nord, a word meaning "north" in several European languages, may refer to: Acronyms * National Organization for Rare Disorders, an American nonprofit organization * New Orleans Recreation Department, New Orleans, Louisiana, US Film and televisi ...

and

Pas-de-Calais The Pas-de-Calais (, ' strait of Calais'; ; ) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments of France, with 890, and is the ...

départements In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

and the consequences of past and current exploitation of the région's

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

External links

The law of 3 January 1992
in French {{DEFAULTSORT:Schema directeur d'amenagement et de gestion des eaux Water law Law of France Water in France Water management