Simulation and Multi-Objective Management of Coastal Aquifers in Semi-Arid Regions

Groundwater is the main water resource in many semi-arid coastal regions and water demand, especially in summer months, can be very high. Groundwater withdrawal for meeting this demand often causes seawater intrusion and degradation of water quality of coastal aquifers. In order to satisfy demand, a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Water resources management Vol. 25; no. 4; pp. 1063 - 1074
Main Authors:	Kourakos, George, Mantoglou, Aristotelis
Format:	Journal Article Conference Proceeding
Language:	English
Published:	Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.03.2011 Springer Springer Nature B.V
Subjects:	Aquifer management Aquifer testing Aquifers Arid zones Atmospheric Sciences Brackish water Civil Engineering Climate change Coastal Coastal aquifers coastal water Coastal zone Coastal zone management Demand desalination drinking water Drought Earth and Environmental Science Earth Sciences Earth, ocean, space economic costs Economics Environment Environmental degradation Exact sciences and technology Genetic algorithms Geotechnical Engineering & Applied Earth Sciences Groundwater Groundwater flow Groundwater recharge Hydrogeology Hydrology. Hydrogeology Hydrology/Water Resources islands Marketing Mathematical analysis Mathematical models Objective function Optimization Partial differential equations problem solving Reverse osmosis Saline water intrusion Salinity Salt saltwater intrusion Seawater Semiarid lands semiarid zones Simulation Studies summer system optimization Waste treatment wastewater Wastewater treatment Water demand Water flow Water quality Water resources Water resources management Water shortages Seawater intrusion Aquifer management Pumping optimization Coastal aquifers Genetic algorithms desalinization algorithms waste water ground water arid environment ground-water recharge degradation digital simulation osmosis hydraulics water resources aquifers optimization climate change models finite difference analysis salt-water intrusion coastal environment pumping water quality islands drought water resource management injection
ISSN:	0920-4741, 1573-1650
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Summary:	Groundwater is the main water resource in many semi-arid coastal regions and water demand, especially in summer months, can be very high. Groundwater withdrawal for meeting this demand often causes seawater intrusion and degradation of water quality of coastal aquifers. In order to satisfy demand, a combined management plan is proposed and is under consideration for the island of Santorini. The plan involves: (1) desalinization (if needed) of pumped water to a potable level using reverse osmosis and (2) injection into the aquifer of biologically-treated waste water. The management plan is formulated in a multi-objective, optimization framework, where simultaneous minimization of economic and environmental costs is desired, subject to a constraint so that cleaned water satisfies demand. The decision variables concern the well locations and the corresponding pumping and recharging rates. The problem is solved using a computationally efficient, multi-objective, genetic algorithm (NSGAII). The constrained multi-objective, optimization problem is transformed to an unconstrained one using a penalty function proportional to constraint violation. This extends the definition of the objective function outside the domain of feasibility. The impact of prolonged droughts on coastal aquifers is investigated by assuming various scenarios of reduced groundwater recharge. Water flow and quality in the coastal aquifer is simulated using a three-dimensional, variable density, finite difference model (SEAWAT). The method is initially applied to a test aquifer and the trade-off curves (Pareto fronts) are determinedl for each drought scenario. The trade-off curves indicate an increase on the economic and environmental cost as groundwater recharge reduces due to climate change.
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ISSN:	0920-4741 1573-1650
DOI:	10.1007/s11269-010-9677-x