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Management of Saltwater Intrusion in Data-scarce Coastal Aquifers: Impacts of Seasonality, Water Deficit, and Land Use

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Abstract

Coastal aquifers are vulnerable to saltwater intrusion (SWI) due to several drivers particularly increased water demand and groundwater overexploitation associated with population growth, reduced groundwater recharge, and lately climate change. This study examines the status of SWI in four data scarce coastal aquifers located along the Eastern Mediterranean by assessing how water cycle seasonality, water deficits, and changes in land use and land cover (LULC) have contributed to increased salinity. A framework that combines field monitoring with hydro-geochemical techniques, as well as multivariate and inferential statistical analysis was used to identify the main SWI drivers at play at each aquifer. The overall assessment showed that all four pilot areas exhibited signs of salinization with different severities. The current state of the aquifers ranged from slightly saline (TDS < 1500 ppm) to highly saline (15,000 < TDS < 31,000 ppm). While the level of the SWI was significantly correlated to the dominant land uses at each site, the extent of the water deficit played a dominant role in explaining the occurrence and intensity of observed SWI rates. The findings suggest a synergistic effect between increased water deficits and urbanization and SWI. Site specific measures are discussed for mitigating the impacts of land use, water demand and deficit towards the sustainable management of the groundwater aquifers.

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Availability of Data and Material

This paper relies on previous work by the authors with minimal material re-used and only where necessary particularly in describing the study areas or comparing with reported work

Notes

  1. Iran (Jamshidzadeh 2020); Egypt (Nosair et al. 2021); China (Zhao et al. 2021); S. Korea (Chang et al. 2020); Bangladesh (Rahman et al. 2011); Spain (Fatoric and Chelleri 2012); India (Prusty and Farooq 2020); Gaza (Abd-Elaty et al. 2020) among others.

  2. Low, medium and high deficit represent deficits of 5-15%, 15-25% and 25-55% of demand, respectively.

  3. Green infrastructure (green roofs, bioswale channels, planters and trenches, rainwater harvesting, sunken public spaces) boosts the resilience of urban centers by focusing on decentralized systems of intertwined green and gray infrastructure (Biswas et al. 2019).

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Funding

This study is part of a program on climate change and seawater intrusion along the Eastern Mediterranean funded by the International Development Research Center (IDRC) of Canada at the American University of Beirut. Grant No. 106706‐001.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon

    G. Rachid, I. Alameddine & M. El-Fadel

  2. Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering, Khalifa University, Abu Dhabi, UAE

    M. El-Fadel

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  1. G. Rachid
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  2. I. Alameddine
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  3. M. El-Fadel
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Correspondence to M. El-Fadel.

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Rachid, G., Alameddine, I. & El-Fadel, M. Management of Saltwater Intrusion in Data-scarce Coastal Aquifers: Impacts of Seasonality, Water Deficit, and Land Use. Water Resour Manage 35, 5139–5153 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11269-021-02991-4

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