Water is eminently suited to the study of archetypes; it is the subject of some of Man's most elemental, spontaneous and irrational thoughts, but also some of his most elaborate and abstract ones. A detailed study of water's various representations allows us not only to explore its links to particular socio-cultural contexts and specific environments, but also to establish some common assumptions shared by managers of all freshwater ecosystems; assumptions which play a key role in decision-making. Water, after all, needs to flow, pure and free from any hindrance. It raises the question as to whether archetypes work like the compensation to a risk, seen as the representation of a counter-attitudinal behaviour and as an anxiety-provoking anticipation of a crisis. This interdisciplinary study, based on a wide range of sources, seeks to determine the place of water in three distinct fields of knowledge. Practical knowledge is studied through an analysis of watercourse management guides and in legislative frameworks. Many systems share common symbolic assumptions about time and space which impact on decision-making practices. Moreover, a study of magico-religious beliefs and rituals allow us to explore how sacred mythological and theological knowledge transforms water and riverside vegetation into symbols. Finally, secular and artistic knowledge is analysed through the examination of various sources, such as analogies, images, and metaphors in literature and poetry.
