Hydrology of stream valleys and consequences for substances and processes

The EU Water Framework Directive outlines an approach to water administration in which interac-tions between groundwater bodies, groundwater dependent terrestrial ecosystems and surface water bodies take on a central role. To facilitate monitoring and status assessment the directive allows grouping according to typologies. A typology used for evaluating interdependency between groundwater bodies, riparian areas and streams must be based on processes controlling flow, con-taminant transport and attenuation. The typology of Groundwater – Surface water Interaction (GSI typology) has been developed as a process oriented multi-scale framework classifying interactions between the three hydrological components. The controlling processes are characterized using an eco-hydrological approach based on geomorphology, hydrogeological setting and flow paths on gradually smaller scales.