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Groundwater recharge assessment in an arid region through chloride mass balance and unsaturated numerical modelling: the Kasserine Aquifer System

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Abstract

Groundwater recharge is one of the most important terms of water budget, and its assessment is crucial for groundwater management and protection. Several methods have been tested for different climatic and hydrogeological conditions for both diffuse and focused recharge. The present paper proposes to combine a geochemical technique and a numerical modelling method to estimate diffuse recharge rates in an arid region using climatic and soil dataset. Located in an arid region in Central Tunisia, the Kasserine Aquifer System (KAS) is a transboundary aquifer extending into the northeast of Algeria. The main regional reservoir of the KAS is the deep Miocene sandstone representing the main available source of water supply in the area. This research aims to estimate recharge in an arid context. Chloride mass balance (CMB) in both unsaturated zone and groundwater and numerical modelling are the retained methods to fulfil these objectives. The variably saturated model HYDRUS-1D was calibrated using field and climate data at a daily scale for a long period. CMB and model calculations showed that recent recharge rates were between 0.6 and 20 mmyr−1, representing a groundwater recharge percentage between 0.2 and 6.7% of the rainfall. This work evaluates the groundwater recharge using geochemical and numerical methods which knowledge is pivotal for future investigations on groundwater resources management plans for the KAS.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Pr. Pierre Perrochet, Dr. Ellen Milnes, and Dr. Fathi Bouksila and all the member of the laboratory of the Centre of Hydrogeology and Geothermic (CHYN) in Neuchatel in Switzerland and the laboratory of INERGREF in Tunisia for their contribution to the soil and geochemical analyses. The authors gratefully thank the National Society of Drinking Water in Tunisia (SONEDE), the Resources Water Direction of Tunis (DGRE), and the Regional Direction of Agriculture and Water Resources of Kasserine (CRDA Kasserine).

Funding

This study was supported by the CILIUM project funded by the Swiss government and the LMHE laboratory.

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  1. National Engineering School of Tunis (ENIT), LR99ES19 Laboratory of Modelling in Hydraulics and Environment (LMHE), University of Tunis El Manar, BP 37, 1002, Tunis, Tunisia

    Imen Hassen, Fairouz Slama & Rachida Bouhlila

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  1. Imen Hassen
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Hassen, I., Slama, F. & Bouhlila, R. Groundwater recharge assessment in an arid region through chloride mass balance and unsaturated numerical modelling: the Kasserine Aquifer System. Arab J Geosci 14, 2282 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-021-08522-0

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