9. Scientific support and networking

Groundwater is a hidden resource, little-known by the public, who often imagine it as a kind of great, inexhaustible underground lake or river. Yet this resource has many facets, forms, behaviors and types of flow that make groundwater a complex system, difficult for scientists, water managers, legislators and users to address. The conclusions of this article examine some perspectives in the light of the development of integrated river basin management. They are elaborated in the author's book published by Éditions Tec & Doc