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The most important chronic water pollution of the River Rhine appeared with the development of chemical and heavy industries along the river. Thus, many legal acts such as international agreements, directives of the European Union and national laws, have been adopted in order to reduce water pollution by industries. The main goals of this study are to partially reconstruct the geo-history of industrial emissions and assess the effectiveness of law with the help of digital tools. Indeed, this research aims to better understand the relation between law and industrial emissions by an attempt of mapping law. This study case is limited to the Grand Canal d’Alsace and the Old Rhine. Since then the application of this legal cartography is still ongoing, and methodological elements will be provided only for the French side of the Rhine.