Catchment Feeding Areas - whole France

The catchment feeding area (CFA) is defined on a hydrological or hydrogeological basis. It corresponds to the areas on which infiltrating or run-off water contributes to the supply of the water resource from which the sample is taken.

Thus, the AAC corresponds to:
- for a sampling structure intended for drinking water in surface water: the sub-watershed upstream of the water intake(s), possibly supplemented by the area concerned by the supply of groundwater from outside that watershed (e.g. basement or stream accompaniment tablecloth),
- for a sampling structure intended for drinking water in groundwater: the supply basin of the water point(s) (place of the points on the ground surface which contribute to the supply of the catchment). The concepts of ‘feeding area’ and ‘feeding basin’ of catchments (AAC, BAC) are here considered to be synonymous.

In the case of several water intakes (surface water) or water points (groundwater) close to each other, the AAC will concern all the intakes / water points of the sampling structure to which they are connected. The AAC may cover more than one sampling structure.

The AAC does not have a founding regulatory text. The regulatory texts refer to its protection zone.

Note: The ST Sandre gradually completes the catchment feeding areas (AAC) reference system. For this reason, the metadata sheet has the status "In the process of being created".

NB: AAFCs in the process of being created are visible on the collaborative catchment-area portal: https://aires-captages.fr. Only Sandre coded AACs are downloadable.