{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.groundwater","code":"thing-q161598","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q161598/","name":"groundwater","alternateNames":["alluvial groundwater","European groundwater","coastal groundwater","deep-seated fluid","deep-seated water","groundwater under the direct influence of surface water","unconfined groundwater","Offshore freshened groundwater","artesian groundwater","artificial groundwater","free water","confined ground water"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.5","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Physical world and living systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"PHY","domain":["PHY.MAT"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"Water in the saturated zone beneath the ground, filling pores and fractures in soil and rock; aquifers are the formations that store and transmit appreciable amounts of it. It feeds springs, rivers and wells and is a major source of drinking and irrigation water.","purpose":"Let an agent describe groundwater by aquifer, level, quality and use, and point to monitoring data and protection rules.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Water in the saturated zone below the water table, unlike soil moisture above it.","Not all groundwater is in an aquifer; under the EU Water Framework Directive a body of groundwater is a distinct volume within aquifers.","Flow speed depends on geology and gradients; travel times range from days to many thousands of years.","Can be fresh, brackish or saline."],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"aquifer","name":"Aquifer","description":"Where the groundwater is.","layers":[{"id":"type","name":"Type","description":"Confined, unconfined, karst.","findings":[{"id":"aquifer-type","name":"Aquifer type","description":"Geology and confinement.","questions":[{"text":"What type of aquifer holds the water?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"How deep is it?","kind":"measurement"}]}]},{"id":"properties","name":"Properties","description":"Permeability and storage.","findings":[{"id":"hydraulic-properties","name":"Hydraulic properties","description":"Transmissivity and storage.","questions":[{"text":"What are its transmissivity and storage?","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"From which tests?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"quantity","name":"Quantity","description":"How much water.","layers":[{"id":"levels","name":"Levels","description":"Water table and trends.","findings":[{"id":"water-level","name":"Water level","description":"Level with unit and datum; depth below ground versus hydraulic head; trend.","questions":[{"text":"What is the current level and trend?","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Which monitoring well reports it?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"recharge-and-use","name":"Recharge and use","description":"Inflows and abstraction.","findings":[{"id":"water-balance","name":"Water balance","description":"Recharge and abstraction.","questions":[{"text":"How much is recharged and abstracted?","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Is it sustainable?","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"quality","name":"Quality","description":"What is in the water.","layers":[{"id":"chemistry","name":"Chemistry","description":"Natural and polluting substances.","findings":[{"id":"quality-data","name":"Quality data","description":"Parameters and limits.","questions":[{"text":"Which parameters exceed limits?","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"When was it sampled?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"pollution-sources","name":"Pollution sources","description":"Origins of contamination.","findings":[{"id":"source","name":"Source","description":"Pollution source.","questions":[{"text":"Where does the contamination come from?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is it natural, such as arsenic?","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"management","name":"Management","description":"Protection and use.","layers":[{"id":"protection","name":"Protection","description":"Zones and directives.","findings":[{"id":"protection-zone","name":"Protection zone","description":"Zones and rules.","questions":[{"text":"Is the area a protection zone?","kind":"boundary"},{"text":"Which rules apply?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"abstraction","name":"Abstraction","description":"Permits and wells.","findings":[{"id":"abstraction-permit","name":"Abstraction permit","description":"Permit and limits.","questions":[{"text":"Is there a permit for abstraction?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"What volume is allowed?","kind":"measurement"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["describe groundwater and provide monitoring data with sources"],"mustNot":["declare well water safe to drink without tests","advise drilling or abstraction without permits"],"requiresHuman":["drinking water safety decisions","abstraction permits"]},"ethics":{"considerations":["fair sharing of groundwater","protection for future generations"],"affectedParties":["communities depending on wells","farmers","ecosystems"]},"owners":{"steward":"the state or water authority, under the rules of each jurisdiction","roles":[],"masterSystems":["national groundwater monitoring networks","IGRAC global groundwater information"]},"relations":[{"target":"Q832131","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q863944","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"aquifer","type":"related","note":"geological formation"},{"target":"precipitation","type":"related","note":"infiltration"},{"target":"surface water","type":"related","note":"rivers and lakes"},{"target":"Groundwater Directive","type":"related","note":"EU protection"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.groundwater","Wikidata: Q161598 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q161598)","groundwater body code: member-state code EU Water Framework Directive reporting"]},"properties":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":[]},"recognition":{"applicability":"required","items":["Springs and seeps","Water standing in wells and boreholes","Not visible underground; seen where it emerges in springs, wells and seepage."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["describe an aquifer and its groundwater","find monitored levels and quality data","explain recharge and depletion","point to protection rules and drinking water standards"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Over-abstraction and falling water tables","Chemical contamination by nitrates, pesticides, arsenic and industrial chemicals","Microbial contamination, especially of shallow groundwater","Land subsidence","Saltwater intrusion in coastal aquifers"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["EU Groundwater Directive 2006/118/EC","EU Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC","WHO Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Supplying drinking water, irrigation and industry, and sustaining rivers, wetlands and ecosystems in dry periods.","unconfined groundwater","confined (artesian) groundwater","alluvial groundwater","karst groundwater","fossil (non-renewable) groundwater","coastal groundwater"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Q161598","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q161598","note":"identity of the registry item, labels and sitelinks"},{"title":"Groundwater","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundwater","note":"general description of the subject"},{"title":"Aquifers and Groundwater","url":"https://www.usgs.gov/water-science-school/science/aquifers-and-groundwater","note":"groundwater and aquifers"},{"title":"Groundwater","url":"https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/water/groundwater_en","note":"EU groundwater policy"},{"title":"Groundwater Decline and Depletion","url":"https://www.usgs.gov/water-science-school/science/groundwater-decline-and-depletion","note":"depletion"},{"title":"Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality","url":"https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/guidelines-for-drinking-water-quality---frequently-asked-questions","note":"drinking water"}],"openQuestions":["Should deep-seated fluids, merged here, be separate from usable groundwater?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q161598/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q161598/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-10-21T19:46:56Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"not-applicable","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-21T19:51:02+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 6 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.properties":"Properties belong to each aquifer and sample; they are recorded under quantity and quality."},"score":1.0}}