Towards sustainable management of groundwater: Policy developments in The Netherlands

Abstract

This article presents and discusses the main elements for a fundamental policy change for groundwater management in The Netherlands. The study analyzes the status and current use of groundwater, the increasing pressure in The Netherlands and many other countries on the natural soil–water system, the effects on quality and quantity of groundwater and the use of the subsoil. An overview is given of the current national and European regulations regarding groundwater and related policies for e.g. drinking water, soil policies and other interventions in the subsurface. The Dutch National Government is developing a new framework for groundwater management that aims a sustainable use of groundwater not only in environmental, but also in economic and social perspective. This framework for groundwater will benefit the Structure vision on the subsoil. The question is how ‘sustainable use’ can be a guiding principle in groundwater management, strengthening the relation between groundwater quantity and quality. It is proposed to define a generic National approach for the assessment of new and existing activities with potential effects on groundwater and for groundwater quality assessment. Additionally it is proposed to give local authorities the opportunity to set area-specific objectives on a regional or local scale to adjust for specific societal needs and area-specific characteristics. For setting these objectives it is recommended to use the concept of ecosystem services as a leading principle for defining the groundwater quality and quantity (e.g. for use as source for drinking water, aquifer thermal storage and sustaining terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems).