Topical Collection: Coastal aquifers in the Middle East and North Africa region

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region suffers from low precipitation and high evaporation. Coastal areas of the MENA region are usually densely populated; hence, the coastal aquifers are easily over-exploited beyond their safe yield, and seawater intrusion and aquifer salinization have been caused by the groundwater-level declines. Four studies in MENA coastal aquifers, on seawater intrusion modeling and aquifer recharge and salinization using isotopes, have been brought together in a topical collection and are discussed in this essay. A brief overview is given of managed aquifer recharge as an effective method to combat groundwater-level decline, seawater intrusion and aquifer salinization in MENA counties.     

Groundwater quality of porous aquifers in Greece: a synoptic review

Greece is dependent on groundwater resources for its water supply. The main aquifers are within carbonate rocks (karstic aquifers) and coarse grained Neogene and Quaternary deposits (porous aquifers). The use of groundwater resources has become particularly intensive in coastal areas during the last decades with the intense urbanization, tourist development and irrigated land expansion. Sources of groundwater pollution are the seawater intrusion due to over-exploitation of coastal aquifers, the fertilizers from agricultural activities and the disposal of untreated wastewater in torrents or in old pumping wells. In the last decades the total abstractions from coastal aquifers exceed the natural recharge; so the aquifer systems are not used safely. Over-exploitation causes a negative water balance, triggering seawater intrusion. Seawater intrusion phenomena are recorded in coastal aquifer systems. Nitrate pollution is the second major source of groundwater degradation in many areas in Greece. The high levels of nitrate are probably the result of over-fertilization and the lack of sewage systems in some urban areas.     

A simulation‐optimization model to control seawater intrusion in coastal aquifers using abstraction/recharge wells

Seawater intrusion is one of the most serious environmental problems in many coastal regions all over the world. Mixing a small quantity of seawater with groundwater makes it unsuitable for use and can result in abandonment of aquifers. Therefore, seawater intrusion should be prevented or at least controlled to protect groundwater resources. This paper presents development and application of a simulation‐optimization model to control seawater intrusion in coastal aquifers using different management scenarios; abstraction of brackish water, recharge of freshwater, and combination of abstraction and recharge. The model is based on the integration of a genetic algorithm optimisation technique and a coupled transient density‐dependent finite element model. The objectives of the management scenarios include determination of the optimal depth, location and abstraction/recharge rates for the wells to minimize the total costs for construction and operation as well as salt concentrations in the aquifer. The developed model is applied to analyze the control of seawater intrusion in a hypothetical confined coastal aquifer. The efficiencies of the three management scenarios are examined and compared. The results show that combination of abstraction and recharge wells is significantly better than using abstraction wells or recharge wells alone as it gives the least cost and least salt concentration in the aquifer. The results from this study would be useful in designing the system of abstraction/recharge wells to control seawater intrusion in coastal aquifers and can be applied in areas where there is a risk of seawater intrusion. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dynamic process analyses of saline intrusion with over-exploitation by coupled flow and dispersive modelling

Understanding of saline intrusion into coastal aquifer is an important issue in management and protection of groundwater resource, which can be well achieved by groundwater modelling. To explain some phenomena of correlation between groundwater level and salinity in observation wells in coastal area, the authors compare the migration velocity of saline particles and transmission velocity of water pressure and derive analytical equations of these two velocities for plane and radial flows. The driving force and resistance of saline intrusion were analysed based on the analytical modelling. The destruction and reconstruction of the equilibrium between fresh water seepage towards sea and saline dispersion to inland were considered as an essence of whole intrusion process. The dynamic process of seepage and dispersion at different stages of saline intrusion were analysed under groundwater over-exploitation. The basic equations of saline intrusion were derived and the mechanism of transitional zone movement was discussed. These constitute coupled seepage–dispersion theory of saline intrusion, which becomes an important supplement to existing theory of saline intrusion. As a case study on saline intrusion in Guangrao County in Eastern China, this theory was applied to predict the development of saline intrusion in the study area.     

GIS-based GALDIT method for vulnerability assessment to seawater intrusion of the Quaternary coastal Collo aquifer (NE-Algeria)

The overexploitation of groundwater in coastal aquifers is often accompanied by seawater intrusion, intensified by climate change and sea level rise. Heading long-term water quality safety and thus the determination of vulnerable zones to seawater intrusion becomes a significant hydrogeological task for many coastal areas. Due to this background, the present study focussed the established methodology of the GIS-based GALDIT model to assess the aquifer vulnerability to seawater intrusion for the Algerian example of the Quaternary coastal Collo aquifer. According to the result analysis overall, more than half of the total surface of the northern study area can be classified as highly vulnerable. Besides the coastline, the areas nearby the local wadis of Guebli and Cherka occur to be the most vulnerable in the region. In view of further map removal performance as well as single-parameter sensitivity analyses from a coupled perspective respectively the GALDIT parameters, distance from the shore (D) and aquifer hydraulic conductivity (A) have been found to be of key significance regarding the model results (mean effective weightings ~?18–19%). Overall, the study results provide a good approximation basis for future management decisions of the Collo aquifer region, including various perspectives such as identification of suitable settings for prospective groundwater pumping wells.     

Seawater intrusion and associated processes in a small coastal complex aquifer (Castell de Ferro,Spain)

An attempt to identify the hydrogeochemical processes that accompany current or past intrusion of seawater in the Castell de Ferro coastal aquifer (SE Spain) was made using ionic deltas, ionic ratios and saturation indices. Alluvial and coastal Quaternary sediments and Triassic marbles constitute this complex aquifer. Cation exchange, dolomitization, and calcite dissolution were identified as operating in the aquifer. The cation exchange processes in the detrital materials are different from those in the marbles. In addition, it was determined that while the processes of marine intrusion associated with periods of low groundwater levels still persist in the detrital aquifer, in the carbonate sector the flushing process characteristic of wetter conditions has begun.     

Three-dimensional hydrostratigraphical modelling to support evaluation of recharge and saltwater intrusion in a coastal groundwater system in Vietnam

Saltwater intrusion is generally related to seawater-level rise or induced intrusion due to excessive groundwater extraction in coastal aquifers. However, the hydrogeological heterogeneity of the subsurface plays an important role in (non-)intrusion as well. Local hydrogeological conditions for recharge and saltwater intrusion are studied in a coastal groundwater system in Vietnam where geological formations exhibit highly heterogeneous lithologies. A three-dimensional (3D) hydrostratigraphical solid model of the study area is constructed by way of a recursive classification procedure. The procedure includes a cluster analysis which uses as parameters geological formation, lithological composition, distribution depth and thickness of each lithologically distinctive drilling interval of 47 boreholes, to distinguish and map well-log intervals of similar lithological properties in different geological formations. A 3D hydrostratigraphical fence diagram is then generated from the constructed solid model and is used as a tool to evaluate recharge paths and saltwater intrusion to the groundwater system. Groundwater level and chemistry, and geophysical direct current (DC) resistivity measurements, are used to support the hydrostratigraphical model. Results of this research contribute to the explanation of why the aquifer system of the study area is almost uninfluenced by saltwater intrusion, which is otherwise relatively common in coastal aquifers of Vietnam.     

Evaluation of the impacts of climate changes on the coastal Chaouia aquifer, Morocco, using numerical modeling

The aquifer of the Chaouia Coast, Morocco constitutes an example of groundwater resources subjected to intensive and uncontrolled withdrawals in a semi-arid region. The analysis of the trends of precipitation and piezometric levels of the Chaouia coastal aquifer, with the use of moving averages, emphasized the impact of the climate on the groundwater resources of the system. The results showed that the periods 1977–1993 and 1996–2000 are characterized by a deficit in precipitation, although the precipitation increased slightly during the periods 1973–1977 and 1993–1996. Numerical modeling of the Chaouia aquifer showed that the groundwater resources of this system are less sensitive to the variations in precipitation. Severe degradation of the resource is related to intensive pumping during the periods of drought, which has forced abandonment of wells due to seawater intrusion.     

The integrated impacts of natural processes and human activities on groundwater salinization in the coastal aquifers of Beihai,southern China

Salinization in coastal aquifers is usually related to both seawater intrusion and water–rock interaction. The results of chemical and isotopic methods were combined to identify the origin and processes of groundwater salinization in Daguansha area of Beihai, southern China. The concentrations of the major ions that dominate in seawater (Cl^?, Na⁺, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺ and SO ₄ ^2– ), as well as the isotopic content and ratios (²H, ¹⁸O, ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and ¹³C), suggest that the salinization occurring in the aquifer of the coastal plain is related to seawater and that the prevailing hydrochemical processes are evaporation, mixing, dissolution and ion exchange. For the unconfined aquifer, groundwater salinization has occurred in an area that is significantly influenced by land-based sea farming. The integrated impacts of seawater intrusion from the Beibuwan Gulf and infiltration of seawater from the culture ponds are identified in the shallowest confined aquifer (I) in the middle of the area (site BBW2). Leakage from this polluted confined aquifer causes the salinization of groundwater in the underlying confined aquifer (II). At the coastal monitoring site (BBW3), confined aquifer I and lower confined aquifer II are heavily contaminated by seawater intrusion. The weak connectivity between the upper aquifers, and the seaward movement of freshwater, prevents saltwater from encroaching the deepest confined aquifer (III). A conceptual model is presented. Above all, understanding of the origin and processes of groundwater salinization will provide essential information for the planning and sustainable management of groundwater resources in this region.     

Salt-water intrusion and nitrate contamination in the Valley of Hermosillo and El Sahuaral coastal aquifers, Sonora, Mexico

 The Valley of Hermosillo coastal aquifer, state of Sonora, northwestern Mexico, has been over-exploited for the last four decades, in order to maintain agricultural activity in one of the most important irrigation districts of the Mexican Republic. The over-exploitation has resulted in the development of several drawdown cones and in the lowering of the water table to as much as 50 m below mean sea level. Contamination of the aquifer in the form of salt-water intrusion from the Gulf of California and high nitrate concentrations is the consequence of human activities. A hydrogeochemical zonation of the aquifer, based on the presence of different water families, led to the identification of a coastal band approximately 30 km wide that is affected by salt-water intrusion. Conductivity of the sampled water and the interpretation of the ratio Na/Cl×1000 was used to identify the location of three major intrusion plumes in this coastal band. The background nitrate contamination of the aquifer is about 4 ppm, but contents as great as about 17 ppm occur in some wells. Irrigation with raw sewage and movement of contaminants in areas of high hydraulic gradients within the drawdown cones probably are responsible for localized peaks of the nitrate concentration. Received, October 1996 Revised, September 1997, May 1998 Accepted, July 1998     

Hydrochemical and statistical studies of the groundwater salinization in Mediterranean arid zones: case of the Jerba coastal aquifer in southeast Tunisia

Coastal aquifers are considered as major sources for freshwater supply worldwide, especially in arid zones. The weak rainfall as well as the intensive extraction of groundwater from coastal aquifers reduce freshwater budget and create local water aquifer depression, causing both seawater intrusion and a threat to groundwater. This phenomenon was observed in the Jerba Island which is located in southeast Tunisia. Jerba??s unconfined aquifer shows high values of groundwater salinity reaching, locally, 17?g/l and a strong contrast between some zones of the aquifer. High pumping rates and weak recharge disturb the natural equilibrium between fresh and saline water causing water salinization in most areas of the island. This study aims at establishing the salinity map of the aquifer and identifying the origin of groundwater salinization. The salinity map shows that zones characterized by low groundwater salinity are located in the center of the study area. High groundwater salinities are observed near the coast and in some parts having low topographic and piezometric levels. Groundwater geochemical characterization, and Br/Cl and Na/Cl ratios suggest that the origin of abnormal salinity is seawater intrusion. Considering groundwater salinity values and Br concentrations, a seawater intrusion map is established. It shows that many areas of the unconfined aquifer are contaminated by mixed groundwater and seawater. The statistical analysis demonstrates that high mineralization of the groundwater is due to gypsum and carbonate dissolution coupled with the mixed groundwater and seawater in many areas.     

Hydrochemical characterisation of ground and surface water at Dörtyol/Hatay/Turkey

The degradation of ground water quality due to human activities is a widespread environmental problem. Furthermore, coastal aquifers are threatened by sea water intrusion as a result of increasing water exploitation. The investigation area near Dörtyol is located at the Mediterranean coast, southern Turkey, and dominated by agricultural land use. Drinking, domestic and agricultural purposes require different amounts of uncontaminated water. In this study the hydrogeological characteristics of the coastal plain were investigated. Discharge and ground water level measurements as well as geological investigations were undertaken in field in addition to anion and cation analyses of ground and surface water. The results show geological and anthropogenic influence on ground and surface water composition. In spite of a large number of wells in the coastal area sea water intrusion was not detected. With the goal of devising sustainable water use regulations, more emphasis and research needs to be directed to the long-term observation of ground and surface water quality as well as the detailed investigation of hydraulic characteristics of the local aquifer.     

Prediction in hydrogeology: two case histories

An inherent aspect of hydrogeology is the dynamic character of groundwater flow within the more passive lithospheric medium. Prediction therefore requires insight into the spatial pattern of aquifer properties as well as the dynamic character of groundwater flow systems. Both aspects together determine hydrogeological system behaviour in space and time. The spatial characteristics of an aquifer are mainly based on geological and geomorphological structure, whereas the dynamics of the system result predominantly from climate and topography; knowledge of paleoconditions are a prerequisite for sound understanding of present systems. The integration of exploration and forecast is illustrated by two case studies. The first study focuses on an assessment of groundwater resource and their sustainable development in semi-arid Botswana. The second study concerns the impact of land and water management in the Netherlands coastal area on the groundwater regime and its future development, including the redistribution of salt and fresh groundwater on a long time scale.     

Monitoring and methods to analyse the groundwater quality degradation risk in coastal karstic aquifers (Apulia,Southern Italy)

A multi-methodological approach based on monitoring and spatio-temporal analysis of groundwater quality changes is proposed. The presented tools are simple, quick and cost-effective to give service to all sorts of users. The chief purpose of the monitoring network is the detection of the piezometric or potenziometric level in the aquifer. The spatial and multi-temporal analysis of usual chemical and physical data provides both an assessment of the spatial vulnerability of the aquifer to seawater intrusion, defining a salinity threshold between fresh groundwater and brackish groundwater and of the water quality trend in terms of salinity. The evaluation of the salinity trend or of salinity-correlated parameters highlights the effects of groundwater mismanagement. The multiparameter logging provides a rapid groundwater quality classification for each well. The whole approach allows evaluating the effects of current management criteria and designing more appropriate management targets. The Apulian karstic coastal aquifers have been selected as a case study (Southern Italy). Three types of aquifer zones can be distinguished: (1) areas with low vulnerability to seawater intrusion, (2) areas with high vulnerability and (3) areas with variable vulnerability in which the salt degradation largely depends on the ability to manage the well discharge. The water quality degradation caused by seawater intrusion appears to be a combined effect of an anomalous succession of drought periods observed from about 1980 onwards and increased groundwater pumping, particularly during drought periods. A management criterion based on aquifer zones is proposed.     

Simulation-optimization approach to assess groundwater availability in Refugio County, TX

Sustainable management of groundwater resources is critical for viable development of semi-arid regions. Refugio County, TX, is predominantly a rural community that is in close proximity to two large urban areas of Corpus Christi and San Antonio. Large-scale water supply projects are being planned to export surplus water available in Refugio County to nearby growing cities. Being a coastal county with several sensitive bays and estuaries, these projects have caused concerns with regard to decreases in freshwater inflows to coastal bodies and raised the possibility of saltwater intrusion. A simulation model characterizing groundwater flow in the shallower unconfined and the deeper semi-confined formations of the Gulf coast aquifer was calibrated and evaluated. The model results were used in conjunction with a mathematical programming scheme to estimate maximum available groundwater in the county. Stakeholder concerns were incorporated as constraints, which included prevention of saltwater intrusion in the aquifer, limiting the amount of allowable drawdown in shallow aquifers, as well as maintaining current flow gradients especially near baseflow-dependent streams and rivers. For the conditions assumed in this study, the model results indicate that roughly 4.93 × 10⁷ m³ of water can be extracted in a typical year. The management model was noted to be very sensitive to the imposed saltwater intrusion constraint.     

A conceptual and numerical model for groundwater management: a case study on a coastal aquifer in southern Tuscany, Italy

Ongoing hydrogeological research aims to develop a correct management model for the Plio-Pleistocene multi-aquifer system of the Albegna River coastal plain (southern Tuscany, Italy); overexploitation of this aquifer for irrigation and tourism has caused seawater intrusion. The conceptual model is based on field and laboratory data collected during the 1995–2003 period. Meteoric infiltration and flows from the adjoining carbonate aquifer recharge the aquifer. Natural outflow occurs through a diffuse flow into the sea and river; artificial outflow occurs through intensive extraction of groundwater from wells. Water exchanges in the aquifer occur naturally (leakage, closing of aquitard) and artificially (multiscreened wells). The aquifer was represented by a three-dimensional finite element model using the FEFLOW numerical code. The model was calibrated for steady-state and transient conditions by matching computed and measured piezometric levels (February 1995–February 1996). The model helped establish that seawater intrusion is essentially due to withdrawals near the coast during the irrigation season and that it occurs above all in the Osa-Albegna sector, as well as along the river that at times feeds the aquifer. The effects of hypothetical aquifer exploitation were assessed in terms of water budget and hydraulic head evolution.     

Intrinsic random function of order<Emphasis Type="Italic"> k</Emphasis> kriging of electrical resistivity data for estimating the extent of saltwater intrusion in a coastal aquifer system

A saltwater intrusion study using electrical resistivity distribution was conducted in a coastal aquifer system in the southeastern part of Busan, Korea. This aquifer system is divided into four layers according to the hydrogeologic characteristics, and the horizontal extent of intruded saltwater is determined at each layer through the geostatistical interpretation of electrical resistivity data. Intrinsic random function of order k (IRF-k) kriging is performed with covariance models to produce the plane of spatial mean resistivities. The kriged estimates are evaluated by cross validation, and they showed a good agreement with the true values. The statistics of cross validation represented low errors for the estimates. In the resistivity contour maps more than 5 m below the surface, a dominant direction of saltwater intrusion was observed beginning from the east side. These results led the authors to conclude that the application of geostatistical technique to electrical resistivity data is useful for assessing saltwater intrusion in a coastal aquifer system.     

Numerical simulation of the influence of management alternatives of a projected reservoir on a small alluvial aquifer affected by seawater intrusion (Almuñécar, Spain)

The present study concerns the application of a numerical approach to describe the influence of anthropogenic modifications in surface flows (operation of a projected reservoir) on the freshwater-seawater relationships in a downstream coastal aquifer which has seasonal seawater intrusion problems (River Verde alluvial aquifer, Almuñécar, southern Spain). A steady-state finite element solution to the partial differential equation governing the regional motion of a phreatic surface and the resulting sharp interface between fresh water and salt water was used to predict the regional behavior of the River Verde aquifer under actual surface flow conditions. The present model approximates, with simple triangular elements, the regional behavior of a coastal aquifer under appropriate sinks, sources, Neumann and open boundary conditions. A steady-state solution to this numerical approach has been shown to precisely calculate freshwater heads, saltwater thicknesses, and freshwater discharges along steeply sloping coasts. Hence, the adequate treatment and interpretation of the hydrogeological data which are available for the River Verde aquifer have been of main concern in satisfactorily applying the proposed numerical model. Present simulated conditions consider steady-state yearly averaged amounts of external supplies of fresh water in order to determine the influences of the projected Otívar reservoir on the further behavior of the River Verde coastal aquifer. When recharges occur at the coastline, essentially because of freshwater deficits due to groundwater overexploitation, a hypothesis of mixing for the freshwater-saltwater transition zone is made in order to still allow the model to continue calculating groundwater heads under the sea level, and, as a consequence, the resulting seawater intrusion and recharges of saltwater from the sea. Simulations show that a considerable advance in seawater intrusion would be expected in the coastal aquifer if current rates of groundwater pumping continue and a significant part of the runoff from the River Verde is channeled from the Otívar reservoir for irrigation purposes.     

Evolution of the groundwater environment under a long-term exploitation in the coastal area near Zhanjiang, China

Aquifers consisting of unconsolidated sediments in the coastal area near Zhanjiang in southern China are grouped into the shallow, middle-deep and deep aquifer systems. Groundwater exploitation began in the 1950s in this district and has increased from year to year since 1980. Measurements of groundwater levels and monitoring data of groundwater chemistry at some 60 wells since 1981 are examined to analyze the evolution of hydrodynamics and hydrochemistry in the coastal aquifers. The results indicate that groundwater levels in the middle-deep and deep aquifer systems have fallen continuously and the extents of the depression cones in water levels have increased in the past two decades, even though the water levels recovered to some degree during the period of 1997–2001. In 2004, the lowest water levels in the middle-deep and deep aquifer systems were 23.58 and 21.84 m below sea level, respectively. The groundwater has TDS ranging from 40 to 550 mg/L, and is of low pH, commonly varies between 4 and 7. Concentrations of total iron and manganese exceed the concentration limits of the drinking water standards. The hardness is in the range of 10–250 mg/L. Chloride contents of the groundwater range from 10 to 60 mg/L. The chloride and TDS do not show systematically increasing trends. Although the water levels in the exploitation center near the coast are significantly lower than the sea level and the depression cones of water levels in the middle-deep and deep aquifer systems have expanded to the sea, sea water intrusion has not been observed until recently. This phenomenon is quite unique in the coastal area near Zhanjiang.     

Hydrochemistry and salt-water intrusion in the Van aquifer,east Turkey

Groundwater in the Van coastal aquifer is one of the main sources of potable, industrial and irrigational water in Van City, because of its semi-arid climate. Groundwater extraction has been in excess of replenishment owing to increased agricultural and economic activities and a growing population during the last 20 years. A hydrochemical survey of the Van aquifer provided data on the groundwater chemistry patterns and the main mineralization processes. The main processes influencing the groundwater chemistry are salinisation from salt-water intrusion, silicate mineral dissolution, cation exchange and human activity. Deterioration in water quality has resulted from intrusion of the salt water of Lake Van along the coastal regions into the Van plain. At present, the mixing rate of salt water in the Van aquifer is between 1 and 5.5% and salt water has already invaded about 5 km inland in the iskele and the airport region.