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2.2.    Definition of good groundwater quantitative status

The definition of good groundwater quantitative status requires that the level of groundwater in the groundwater body is such that the available groundwater resource is not exceeded by the long-term annual average rate of abstraction.

Accordingly, the level of groundwater is not subject to anthropogenic alterations such as would result in:

  1. failure to achieve the environmental objectives specified under Article 4 for associated surface waters,
  2. any significant diminution in the status of such waters,
  3. any significant damage to terrestrial ecosystems which depend directly on the groundwater body,

and alterations to flow direction resulting from level changes may occur temporarily, or continuously in a spatially limited area, but such reversals do not cause saltwater or other intrusion, and do not indicate a sustained and clearly identified anthropogenically induced trend in flow direction likely to result in such intrusions.

 

To determine the overall quantitative status for a Groundwater body, a series of tests should be applied that consider the impacts of anthropogenically induced long-term alterations in groundwater level and/or flow. Each test will assess whether the Groundwater body is meeting the relevant environmental objectives. Not all environmental objectives will apply to every Groundwater body. Therefore only the relevant tests will need to be applied as necessary. There is an overlap with chemical status assessment for some elements of quantitative status assessment, in particular the assessment relating to saline intrusion. In this case the assessment for chemical and quantitative status for this element can be combined and a single test carried out. For others there will be a need to share information between the chemical and quantitative assessments.

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