A Decision Support System for Managed Aquifer Recharge Through Non-Conventional Waters in the South of the Mediterranean

Rym Hadded (), Mongi Ben Zaied, Fatma Elkmali, Giulio Castelli, Fethi Abdelli, Zouhaier Khabir, Khaled Ben Zaied, Elena Bresci and Mohamed Ouessar
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Rym Hadded: Laboratoire d’Erémologie et de LCD (LR16IRA01), Institut des Régions Arides (IRA), Médenine 4119, Tunisia
Mongi Ben Zaied: Laboratoire d’Erémologie et de LCD (LR16IRA01), Institut des Régions Arides (IRA), Médenine 4119, Tunisia
Fatma Elkmali: Département Hydraulique, Ecole Supérieure d’Ingénieurs de Mjez el Beb (ESIM), Béja 9070, Tunisia
Giulio Castelli: Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Agrarie, Alimentari, Ambientali e Forestali (DAGRI), Università degli Studi di Firenze (UNIFI), 50121 Firenze, Italy
Fethi Abdelli: Laboratoire d’Erémologie et de LCD (LR16IRA01), Institut des Régions Arides (IRA), Médenine 4119, Tunisia
Zouhaier Khabir: Société Nationale d’Exploitation et de Distribution des Eaux (SONEDE), Médenine 4100, Tunisia
Khaled Ben Zaied: Commissariat Régional au Développement Agricole (CRDA), Médenine 4100, Tunisia
Elena Bresci: Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Agrarie, Alimentari, Ambientali e Forestali (DAGRI), Università degli Studi di Firenze (UNIFI), 50121 Firenze, Italy
Mohamed Ouessar: Laboratoire d’Erémologie et de LCD (LR16IRA01), Institut des Régions Arides (IRA), Médenine 4119, Tunisia

Resources, 2025, vol. 14, issue 4, 1-41

Abstract: Water management in arid regions faces significant challenges due to limited water resources and increasing competition among sectors. Climate change (CC) exacerbates these issues, highlighting the need for advanced modeling tools to predict trends and guide sustainable resource management. This study employs Water Evaluation And Planning (WEAP) software to develop a Decision Support System (DSS) to evaluate the impact of climate change and water management strategies on the Triassic aquifer of “Sahel El Ababsa” in southeast Tunisia up to 2050. The reference scenario (SC0) assumes constant climatic and socio-economic conditions as of 2020. CC is modeled under RCP4.5 (SC1.0) and RCP8.5 (SC2.0). Additional scenarios include Seawater Desalination Plants (SDPs) (SC3.0 and SC4.0), water harvesting techniques (SC5.0) to highlight their impact on the recharge, and irrigation management strategies (SC6.0). All these scenarios were further developed under the “SC1.0” scenario to assess the impact of moderate CC. The initial aquifer storage is estimated at 100 Million cubic meters (Mm 3 ). Under (SC0), storage would decrease by 76%, leaving only 23.7 Mm 3 by 2050. CC scenarios (SC1.0, SC2.0) predict about a 98% reduction. The implementation of the Zarat SDP (SC3.0) would lead to a 45% improvement compared to reference conditions by the end of the simulation period, while its extension (SC4.0) would result in a 69.5% improvement. Under moderate CC, these improvements would be reduced, with SC3.1 showing a 59% decline and SC4.1 a 35% decline compared to the reference scenario. The WHT scenario (SC5.0) demonstrated a 104% improvement in Triassic aquifer storage by 2050 compared to the reference scenario. However, under CC (SC5.1), this improvement would be partially offset, leading to a 29% decline in aquifer storage. The scenario maintaining stable agricultural demand from the Triassic aquifer under CC (SC6.1) projected an 83% decrease in storage. Conversely, the total “Irrigation Cancellation” scenario (SC7.1) under CC showed a significant increase in aquifer storage, reaching 59.3 Mm 3 by 2050—an improvement of 250% compared to the reference scenario. The study underscores the critical need for alternative water sources for irrigation and integrated management strategies to mitigate future water scarcity.

Keywords: Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR); hydrogeology; Water Evaluation And Planning System (WEAP); Water Harvesting Techniques (WHTs); desalination; Climate Change (CC) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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