Previous editions of the SHF Hydrométrie symposium (2008, 2013, 2017, 2021) have helped strengthen exchanges within the professional community of French and French-speaking hydrometers, structured around the Groupe Doppler Hydrométrie (GDH) and its associated Hydrométrie section of the Société Hydrotechnique de France (SHF). With over 550 addresses subscribed to its forum, the GDH, created in 2005, has become the largest professional hydrometry network in the world (see website: https://gdh-hydrometrie.org/).
Since 2021, hydrometry has continued to benefit from developments affecting both measurement techniques and data collection and transmission methods. Non-intrusive measurement devices (radar, imagery), which were still in the experimental stage only 10 years ago, have since been put into operational use. The French community has also been very active in the field of uncertainty estimation, new technologies (notably low-cost/low-tech), and the organization of intercomparisons of equipment and techniques (including the Sault-Brénaz 2023 international intercomparisons and the Jeux Hydrométriques Troyes 2024). Significant progress has also been made in the validation, banking and distribution of hydrometric data and associated hydrological products to a wide variety of users.

Hydrometry is a very active field, where techniques, methods, players and expectations evolve very rapidly, justifying the regular organisation of conferences bringing together all the players and beneficiaries of hydrometric data production. The SHF and the Groupe Doppler Hydrométrie therefore wish to propose a new exchange on advances and challenges in hydrometryby organising a 5th edition of the conference on 05 and 06 November 2025. The theme chosen for this year's event, " From producers to consumers ”, illustrates the collective objective of producing and disseminating reliable, transparent hydrological data and products, with quantified uncertainty, to enable informed decision-making in the management of resources, habitats and natural hazards.

The SHF Hydrométrie conference is the only international conference organized in French on this theme. It is also unique in that it brings together both academic and operational/institutional participants (as well as numerous commercial exhibitors), with papers on both methodological and theoretical research and development (uncertainty analysis, new technologies, for example) and papers on operational issues and applications, by both data-producing departments and users of hydrometric data (hydrologists, engineering consultancies, etc.). Participants range from research teams (research institutes, universities, etc.) to hydrometric services (French government, EDF, CNR, etc.), as well as local authorities, consultancies, associations, river associations, etc. The SHF Hydrométrie conference reflects the dynamism and uniqueness of the French-speaking hydrometric community, in all its facets.