Selection and prioritization of substances to be regulatory monitored in groundwater under the WFD

Regular survey of groundwater is declined in large "photographic" and "intermediate" monitoring on a great number of substances including emerging compounds. These campaigns, carried out once and twice per WFD cycle respectively, are organized in order to verify there is not unattended quantification of pollutants in groundwater and to highlight substances those need deeper attention. These large "screenings" are completed with the survey control that consists to annually monitor, on all sites of the regulatory network, parameters that can be adjusted by each river basin management plan based on local knowledge and issues. New knowledge on the presence of pollutants in groundwater acquired by river basin management plan monitoring and prospective campaigns and also by French National Agency for Health and Environment (ANSES) during the 2010-2015 WFD cycle allowed to review the list of substances to be monitored in groundwater for the second 2016-2021 WFD cycle. A categorization and prioritization algorithm was developed based on surface water experience in order to select relevant substances to be regularly monitored in groundwater. The study undertaken in 2013 and 2014 provided new lists of substances and arguments to review modalities of the first WFD cycle groundwater survey. A new decree has been written by the French Ministry for Environment and Biodiversity the 7th of august 2015 based on this study. First results from some river basin stakeholders which already applied this new regular monitoring reveal the overall presence in groundwater of certain substances that had not been monitored during the first WFD cycle.