U.S.-Morocco Cooperative Research : Optimal Groundwater Models for Sustainable Management of Coastal Aquifers

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0422868 ChengDescription: This project supports a cooperative project by the Dr. Alexander Cheng, Department of Civil Engineering, University of Mississippi, University, Mississippi and Dr. Abdelkader Larabi, Department of Civil Engineering, Ecole Mohammadia d'Ingenieures, University Mohamed V, Rabat, Morocco. They propose to conduct research to develop optimal models for sustainable water management in coastal aquifers of Morocco and in other countries. The expected outcomes include the optimal exploitation of groundwater under the constraint of seawater intrusion, better management of monitoring programs and recharge assessment, and water resources protection. A three-dimensional finite element method with a robust solver will be used to analyze available data such as groundwater piezometric head, pumping activities, and salinity concentrations. Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Graphic User Interface (GUI) will be employed for pre- and post-processing, especially for mesh generation and visualization. Problems involving saltwater intrusion, up coning near pumping wells, optimal pumping rate, artificial recharge assessment, and their environmental and socio-economic impacts, will be studied. A combination of groundwater numerical simulation tools and optimization models will be used to accomplish these objectives. The Souss Massa coastal field in Agadir, south of Morocco, is selected as the demonstration site for this integrated model. The Souss Massa aquifer is suffering serious saltwater intrusion from the Atlantic Ocean due to overexploitation of groundwater and the lack of natural and artificial recharge. Scenarios varying recharge locations, pumping regulation, and optimal pumping rate distribution will be simulated to assess the best seawater intrusion control strategies. Although three-dimensional density dependent saltwater intrusion computer models became available during the last decade, their use so far are limited to small scale aquifer studies. This project will apply these models, combined with the optimization tools, and the GIS and GUI visualization capabilities, to study a regional problem in Morocco, leading to a best management program.Scope and broader Impact: Sustainable use of coastal freshwater resources is an important problem for the US, Morocco, as well as all coastal nations around the world. The project will enhance the education opportunities and research capacity for the students and faculty of the University of Mohamed V. The outcome of the study will help to protect the water resources of a vital economic region of Morocco. Water resources managers and decision makers can utilize the developed tools to conduct their planning and decision making more efficiently. The system developed can be applied to similar situations in coastal regions around the world.