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Natural and artificial recharge investigation in the Zéroud Basin, Central Tunisia: impact of Sidi Saad Dam storage

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Abstract

Hydrochemical and isotopic data of waters from the Zéroud aquifer have been used to potentially provide a means for locating occurrences and to trace movements of a variety of natural and anthropogenic recharge waters in the Zéroud Basin, Central Tunisia. Geochemical data have been measured during the dam water release, from May to September 2005, with a sampling time step of 15 days. An implication of dam water has been demonstrated that is noticeable up along the main flow path to a distance of 10 km far from the injection site. Environmental isotopes 2H, 18O and 3H of water molecule were studied to investigate the effect of dam water on the hydrological system, and an isotope balance was established to compute the contribution of water storage component in groundwater. Based on isotopic mass balance, we assess that an average of 13% of total groundwater in the upper aquifer came from dam water storage. Three distinctive recharge waters in the aquifer can be determined. Water from local rainfall (pre-dam Zéroud River) that infiltrated into the boundaries of the Draa Affane Mountain was easily distinguished from the water influenced by anthropogenic recharge located in the Zéroud right rivulet. Distinguishable isotopic signatures of native wadi Zéroud recharge due to “recent lineal recharge” through the riverbed were also identified.

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Acknowledgments

This study was carried out under the project CMCU (06S/1003), which was interested in the use of environmental isotopes for the assessment of water resources of the Zéroud Basin (Central Tunisia). We would like to express our gratitude to the laboratory staff at Avignon (France) for the isotopic analysis of waters, and the laboratory staff at Sfax (Tunisia) for their help in providing hydrological data and geochemical analysis. We offer our utmost thanks to Mr Vincent Valles and Mr Mohamed El Ayachi for their continual help.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Radio-Analyses and Environment, National School of Engineers, BP 1173, 3038, Sfax, Tunisia

    Sarra Bel Hadj Salem & Kamel Zouari

  2. Laboratory of Radio-Analyses and Environment, Department of Geography, Faculty of Letters and Humanities, Sfax, Tunisia

    Najiba Chkir

  3. Lab. d’Hydrogéologie, Traçage et modélisation des transferts, Univ. d’Avignon et des Pays de Vaucluse, Fac. des Sciences, Avignon, France

    Anne Laure Cognard-Plancq, Vincent Valles & Vincent Marc

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  1. Sarra Bel Hadj Salem
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  2. Najiba Chkir
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  3. Kamel Zouari
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  4. Anne Laure Cognard-Plancq
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  5. Vincent Valles
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  6. Vincent Marc
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Correspondence to Sarra Bel Hadj Salem.

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Bel Hadj Salem, S., Chkir, N., Zouari, K. et al. Natural and artificial recharge investigation in the Zéroud Basin, Central Tunisia: impact of Sidi Saad Dam storage. Environ Earth Sci 66, 1099–1110 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-011-1316-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-011-1316-1

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