Socio-hydrosystem modelling for integrated water-resources management—the He´rault catchment case study, southern France

An attempt is made to develop an integrated model of a watershed to be used as a tool to facilitate debates and consultations between stakeholders and thus to enhance the participatory process. Based on a comprehensive knowledge and expertise of geological, hydrogeological and hydrological features of the catchment basin, as well as on extensive consultation of the stakeholders involved in its water resource management, a conceptual model of the socio-hydrosystem of the middle He´rault valley (100 km2) was proposed. A simulator was then developed using Matlab/Simulink# software to ensure the numerical translation of the conceptual model. This simulator is problem-solving oriented, investigating the hydrosystem responses according to various scenarios, computing groundwater and river flow. Compared to observed data, the first numerical results are convincing regarding the simulated groundwater and river water levels. In that sense, the simulator is seen as a powerful tool to explore cumulative impacts of water-resource management at the catchment scale.