M1 - Water and Society (ES)

See full page

Project management brings together all the methods, tools and techniques used to organize the progress of a project and achieve its objectives, from the project idea to its completion.

A practical situation is planned with the help of exercises or case studies so that the students acquire the right reflexes and manipulate the tools of project management.

See full page

Water is at the heart of multiple and contradictory issues, visions and interests. The articulation of these different elements raises the question of integrated management (IWRM) and regulation (in particular by public policies), of the balance between collective and private values, and of decision-making processes concerning collective issues, in short, of governance. Decentralization, water and sanitation services, basin management, the European Framework Directive, financial circuits illustrate, in particular, different facets of governance.

See full page

See full page

This course should enable students to acquire in-depth knowledge of the functioning of aquatic ecosystems and to identify threats and vulnerability to local pressures and climate change.

It will also allow 1) to know the specificities of the functioning of benthic ecosystems and the ecological roles of its components, 2) to acquire in-depth knowledge in the functioning of aquatic ecosystems, 3) to acquire knowledge on the impact of chemical and biological contaminants (toxic and pathogenic microalgae), of climate change and anthropization on the functioning of aquatic ecosystems and on these components with socio-economic repercussions This EU will develop networks for monitoring the marine environment and the health of exploited marine animals by addressing mortality issues.

See full page

This teaching is divided into two parts, one part concerning surface and atmospheric waters, the other part concerning groundwater. This UE is in continuity with the UE Water cycle of S1, and allows to lay the essential bases for the specific teachings of hydrodynamics and physical hydrology which will take place in S2. It is thus a transitional course between fundamental knowledge on the water cycle and specific knowledge on the study and characterization of surface and groundwater resources.

Theoretical courses associated with integrated tutorials are complemented by practical work on computers and hydrogeological maps.

See full page

This course introduces students to the contaminants in the aquatic environment, which are essential for the evaluation of risks to the health of ecosystems and humans and for the management of water resources. This is why the program integrates the presentation of the various contaminants of the environment and the regulations.

This course is taught by research professors and researchers (multidisciplinary course) who develop their research activities around the problems of contaminants in aquatic environments.

See full page

The course is organized in 3 main chapters with alternating tutorials applied to engineering problems. In the first part, after describing the large water reservoirs on a global scale and the basic principles of the water cycle, the effects of human activities on this cycle are discussed. The second part is dedicated to the aerial part of this cycle from precipitation to infiltration. The third part focuses on aquifers and groundwater from the pore scale to the catchment scale.

See full page

The "Ocean, Atmosphere, Climate" module focuses on presenting the fundamental principles of atmospheric dynamics, ocean dynamics and provides a critical and documented look at climate change. The teaching is based on the analysis of official documents describing global change, documented lessons on key issues and applications on case studies in different global contexts.

The module is shared by the "Coastal engineering and rational development of the coastline" and "Water and coastline" courses of the STPE and Water masters. It can be taken by work-study students wishing to update their knowledge of global change and its relationship to weather and atmospheric processes.

See full page

The content of the module is structured as follows: -A series of lectures: 1-Water resources and food security, 2-Environmental impact of agriculture on water resources and aquatic environments, 3-Current advances and challenges in agronomic research for the optimization of water consumption by plants, and 4-Management of water demand in agriculture. -Tutorials: Food security and prospective scenario. -A prospective work in small groups will be implemented to produce scenarios related to the state of water resources and food production on a case study of a southern country.

See full page

See full page

The lessons consist essentially of a presentation of the foundations of regional planning: the main legal frameworks are presented and analyzed (in a participative manner) legal frameworks and their constant evolution (Codes, Laws, Texts), the " doctrines We present and analyze (in a participatory manner) the main legal frameworks and their constant evolution (Codes, Laws, Texts), the "doctrines" that condition their application, but also the different technical "tools", whether they are procedures or file set-ups (Urban Planning Documents, or public or private construction or development projects). The tools and conditions for dialogue and consultation (examination of the different operating modes), the land approaches (land control and tools for this control), the evaluation of the multiple issues (financial, socio-economic and political), and finally the processes of decision making. The different aspects mentioned above are put forward as factors that condition the success - and therefore the successful spatial translation - of all development projects, whatever their nature and the dimension.

Focused on all the territories, the module is also focused on the specific problems of coastal areass and similar areas. Because coastal areas have their own specificities, a specific approach to these areas is essential to complete the general approaches (Coastal Law, Water Law, easements, evolution of frameworks and texts).

Finally, the backdrop of this module is the systematic highlighting of the multiple debates and issues involved in the confrontation between theemergency (or priority) socio-economic and the emergency (or priority) environmental emergencywith an understanding of the trade-offs and adjustments that this confrontation gives rise to. The topicality of the ecological and transitional emergency as well as the acceleration of confrontations / conflicts of interest are examined and put into perspective.

With respect to the management As regards the "management" of territories, presented in the title of the EU (" From planning to management of the territory") as a consequence of the planning stage, this theme is also described and analysed for each of the points declined that fall under planning, both as a consequence of the actions carried out and as a condition for success -in the medium and long term- of the projects implemented on a territory, whatever the scale.

See full page

The Bibliographic Project course consists of training in documentary research, including the use of search engines, databases and bibliographic reference management tools. Students work in pairs on a subject they have defined themselves, in connection with their training. This documentary research is valued by the writing of a synthesis and a poster.

See full page

Sociologists of science consider that controversies are inherent to the process of knowledge production. They refer to (1) situations of discussion between scientists who oppose or agree on the data they produce, but also (2) mobilizations that develop in the context of institutionalized public debates or more informal exchanges. These controversies are an opportunity to observe science and decisions in the making, since they are nourished by knowledge that is not yet stabilized. They provide examples from which to rethink the relationship between science and society, and in so doing, the issues of technical democracy, at the interface of several disciplines.

See full page

TD courses in English for students in the Water Sciences program, aimed at professional autonomy in the English language.

See full page

At the end of this module, students should be able to understand an economic analysis of a water management project/policy. They should be familiar with the principles of cost-benefit analysis, know the valuation methods, parameters and indicators that can be used. They will learn to have a critical eye on the evaluations and on the parameters and indicators used.

See full page

The GIS Practice course consists of a training in the practice of Geographic Information Systems, integrating the basic concepts concerning geographic information and the mastery of the free software QGIS. The majority of the course is devoted to an initiation through alternating lectures and practical exercises. At the end of the course, a personalized cartographic project allows students to remobilize the concepts seen previously. An introductory lecture with professionals allows to put into perspective the interest of GIS approaches in general hydrology.

See full page

See full page

This course is an introduction to quantitative survey methods in the social sciences.

He is interested in the use of statistics and the definition of categories to describe the social world as well as the objectification of representations.

It proposes to put the questionnaire tool into practice by creating a questionnaire, administering it and analyzing its results.

See full page

TD courses in English for students in the Water Sciences program, aimed at professional autonomy in the English language.

See full page

The module introduces managerial and multi-criteria approaches to the evaluation of water services.

The module focuses on the management of drinking water and sanitation services, as well as irrigation water services. It provides an understanding and a critical vision of the management tools of these services.

The module is organized in 3 main steps:

• Analysis and evaluation of the economic, financial and technical performance of water and sanitation utilities, with a focus on financial analysis and performance indicators of water utilities
• Environmental assessment with a presentation of global approaches (Life Cycle Assessment) versus local approaches.
• An analysis of the sustainability of services

The course is based on concrete case studies to illustrate the various concepts covered. Particular emphasis is placed on the relative character of performance, a multi-dimensional notion that evolves over time and varies according to the points of view considered.

See full page

Historically, the question of managing access to water resources was first raised for river water, which is closely linked to the climatic conditions of the moment, and for water delivered by man-made distribution systems. It is only more recently that the management of groundwater has been considered, as it is less subject to problems of cyclical shortage (except for the water tables accompanying rivers). In the majority of cases, access to groundwater is made on an individual basis, with each user (particularly in agriculture) accessing it by drilling at the place of his needs. But these underground resources also require management, because they are increasingly exploited and sometimes even overexploited.

This module addresses the issue of groundwater resources management by first presenting what each discipline of physical sciences (geology-hydrogeology, geochemistry, isotopy) and their tools brings to the knowledge of aquifers (at the geological level: outcrop, drilling, logging, seismic profiles ...; at the hydrogeological level: piezometry, pumping test, sampling points / outlets, quantities withdrawn ...): geometry, structure and hydrological functioning.

It then outlines the value of groundwater to the various uses that mobilize it. The economic value of groundwater is thus studied in this section (Qureshi et al., 2012). The difficulties of knowing about these groundwater withdrawals and the methods that can be used to reveal them are also specified.

It then describes the various problems posed by aquifers: current or future overexploitation of groundwater, degradation of groundwater quality, threat of saltwater intrusion, salinization of soils, etc.

Finally, it identifies the various methods for rebalancing groundwater supply and demand. Firstly, it sets out the means of increasing water supply (active management of groundwater, substitutions between resources) or avoiding the contamination of good quality water by less good quality water. Examples: active management of karstic aquifers (Lez system), artificial recharge (e.g. Seine catchment fields in Paris), inter-seasonal / inter-annual recharge (Llobregat, Catalonia), recharge with wastewater (California), damming to avoid contamination of freshwater by saltwater.

Secondly, it traces the solutions acting on water demand. These solutions are based on two drivers of individual decisions, which can sometimes be combined: maximization of individual utility and inclusion in a society that induces "pro-social" behavior. Solutions that act directly on the demand for groundwater (pricing, quotas, trading of water rights) will be explored, as well as indirect solutions (purchase of land that can protect a resource, agricultural or energy policies that can positively or negatively influence the development of individual abstractions, etc.).

See full page

See full page

See full page

This module aims to bring students to a concrete understanding of the implementation of IWRM and participation in water management through an active pedagogical approach.

It is based on the "Cooplage" system for supporting the implementation of participatory approaches to water management, developed by researchers from the GEAU research unit, and the associated Agreenium MOOC Terr'eau & co.

The students will work in small groups, associating students from the different courses of the Water Master, on case studies resulting from the ongoing research projects of the lecturers. The learning will be done through the implementation of some tools of the "Cooplage" device on their case study, including modeling and participatory simulation in the form of a role play. In order to anchor their work, students will be put in contact with the holders of these case studies. 

In view of the health constraints, this year the EU will take place entirely remotely. The modeling and the games will be done on a virtual table.

See full page

This methodological module offers instruction in qualitative survey techniques and inductive reasoning. Students will be trained to conduct open-ended interviews, conduct field observations and learn to analyze empirical data. Students will put these lessons into practice by conducting a collective survey on a controversy related to water or the environment (in connection with the lessons received in UE 118).

See full page