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Protocol MAR

Q1 2027

Water returned to the ground.

The protocol for managed aquifer recharge. Water effectively infiltrated, observed over time, becomes a certified stock.Water returned to an aquifer and held over time becomes a certified stock.

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WRC · MAR
Managed aquifer recharge scheme

02The situation

Aquifers are drained in silence.

Groundwater supplies two thirds of Europe's drinking water, and some aquifers are drawn faster than they refill. Managed recharge returns winter, flood or recycled water to the ground, yet it remains marginal worldwide.Two thirds of EU drinking water comes from aquifers.

65%of EU drinking water comes from groundwaterSource · EEA, 2022
9%of EU groundwater body area is in poor quantitative statusSource · EEA, 2022
10 km³recharged each year worldwide, about 1% of groundwater abstractionSource · Dillon et al., 2019
$0.20per m³: average cost of recharge by infiltration, across 21 projectsSource · Ross & Hasnain, 2018

03Who it is for

What each party gains.

One recharge, certified once, serves every party: project developers, water utilities and local authorities, the users who draw on the aquifer and the companies committed in the basin.One recharge, certified once, serves every party.

  • Project developersProve and verify the restored stock and the local water impact, to value and finance your intervention.
  • Water utilities and local authoritiesTurn winter water, stormwater or treated wastewater into a reserve for dry years.
  • Farms and industrial sitesSecure the aquifer you draw on, and prove your contribution to it.
  • Contributing companiesA traceable contribution in your basin, reusable in your water reporting.
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04Methodological alignment

Credible by design.

Built on the references auditors, regulators and funders already use. Nothing that matters is self-declared.

  • Water accounting
    • VWBA 2.0
    • ISO 14046
  • Measurement & verification
    • IPMVP
    • ISO 14064-2
    • ISO 14064-3
  • Evidence & traceability
    • ISO 22095
    • ISO/IEC 15459
  • Independent verification
    • ISO/IEC 17029
    • ISO 14065

Data reusable in:CSRD · ESRS E3 · CDP Water Security · SBTN Freshwater · AWS Standard v3.0 · GRI 303 · CEO Water Mandate

05What we certify

A stock, held over time.

Recharge is not a flow consumed at once: it is a stock added to the aquifer, which can be lost again. That is why the certificate carries a duration and a reserve.A stock added to the aquifer, with a duration and a reserve.

  1. Volume recharged (WRC). The water added to the aquifer beyond its natural recharge.
  2. Duration. The stock must hold for at least ten years.
  3. Buffer reserve. A share set aside against the risk of loss.
Certify my project
One recharge gives a stock: the volume added to the aquifer, held at least ten years, with a reserve against loss

06How it works

From infiltration to certificate.

Each step leaves evidence the independent verifier can check.Each step leaves verifiable evidence.

  1. 01QualifyAquifer under strain, water available to recharge, quality compatible with the aquifer.
  2. 02Set the baselineThe natural recharge, without works, is the reference.
  3. 03Measure the infiltrationVolumes put into the ground and aquifer levels followed on site.
  4. 04Follow the stockThe water added is tracked over time, for at least ten years.
  5. 05Verify and certifyAI agents on every data point, validation by an accredited verifier, issuance on the registry.

07The measurement

Only the water added counts.

The certified volume is the water the works add to the aquifer, beyond what rain would have brought on its own. Water already there does not count. The detailed calculation and verification method is being developed with the protocol.Only the water added beyond natural recharge counts.

  1. Reference: the natural recharge without works.
  2. A stock followed over time, not a one-off volume.
  3. Detailed method being developed with the protocol.
Read the protocol
The ground in section: water infiltrated from a basin raises the aquifer above its former level; only that added band counts

08Get started

Recharging an aquifer? Make your action count with us.

Start with one site, prove it, then scale up.Start with one site: prove it, then scale.

Get started

+Questions

What if the stock is withdrawn later?

Stock-type benefits carry permanence safeguards. Certificates already retired are not reopened.

What is measured?

Infiltration flow, groundwater level against a reference signed before works, and water quality.

Why do permanence rules apply?

Because an aquifer is a stock that droughts or later abstraction can deplete again.

Is recharge eligible for corporate co-funding?

It is a strong fit: there is nothing to sell, and the benefit to the basin is real.

When will the protocol be active?

The target date for this protocol is Q1 2027. We are looking for project developers to start designing the protocol methodology on a founding pilot.