Assessing sub-regional water scarcity using the groundwater footprint

doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2018.08.056

Ecological Indicators

Volume 96, Part 1, January 2019, Pages 32-39

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2018.08.056 Get rights and content

Highlights

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Surveys allow to calculate water abstractions when there is no available information.
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A water stress indicator is able to evaluate water scarcity and groundwater sustainability.
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Alternatives to reduce water stress indicators allow food and energy security.

Abstract

The groundwater footprint (GF) is an innovative concept that is used to evaluate groundwater sustainability, and it can be defined as the area required to sustain groundwater use and groundwater-dependent ecosystem services in a region. In this study, we evaluated water scarcity on a sub-regional scale using a water stress indicator defined as the ratio of groundwater footprint to aquifer area GF/A that indicates the sustainability of the aquifers. The higher the stress indicator is, the less sustainable the aquifer is. This study was conducted in the northern part of Colombia; it involves 19 municipalities located in the Sucre department and six main aquifers. Through the use of 5000 interviews, the study calculates water abstractions in the study area, such as cattle, commerce, industry, homes, agro-industry and agriculture; however, only domestic demand associated with groundwater fed aqueducts and groundwater wells was considered because it represents almost 80% of the total abstractions. In addition, the study considered climate change and population growth and how they may affect the GF. The analysis shows that the water stress indicator for the Morroa aquifer has the highest groundwater stress among the six aquifers subject to investigation. GF is considerably higher than many of the world aquifers. Using the same indicator, we compared different mitigation alternatives to increase the sustainability of the Morroa aquifer. Results show that a combination of artificial recharge measures with an alternative source able to supply at least 50% of the domestic consumption appears to be the best choice to make the aquifer more sustainable. GF is a simplified yet robust way to support decision-makers and stakeholders so as they can evaluate water management policies and strategies.

Introduction

In the last few years, the demand for groundwater has increased considerably to be able to supply the needs of economic sectors and domestic use. At world level and in proportions that vary widely from one country to the next, especially in those regions where there is no surface water and groundwater is the only source, groundwater exploitation covers approximately: 40% for industrial activities; 20% for irrigation and 40% for drinking water needs (Zektser and Lorne, 2004). The high demand of this resource and the lack of proper management strategies have generated some concerns around a possible scarcity of groundwater in certain regions due to an accelerated decrease in water levels (Zektser and Lorne, 2004, Wada et al., 2010, Rodell et al., 2009, Konikow and Kendy, 2005).

A novel indicator used to study sustainability, vulnerability and stress of aquifers is the groundwater footprint concept- GF (Gleeson and Wada, 2013). The GF determines the volume of water that is required for a consumer or producer, also known as blue water (Aldaya et al., 2012), without taking into account the surface water. It is used to estimate groundwater stress and was introduced for the first time by Gleeson et al. (2012). Groundwater stress is an indicator of water scarcity, calculated as the ratio of the groundwater footprint and aquifer area. The aforementioned indicator focuses on groundwater quantity and ignores the resourcés possible contamination problems, which may result in a smaller water footprint and stress.

There are well-documented studies of the largest global aquifers’ water footprint and scarcity (e.g. Gleeson and Wada, 2013, Gleeson et al., 2012, Hoekstra et al., 2012) that help to classify those regions with an elevated water stress, either by the characteristics of the environment or the overexploitation of the resource. Colombia has a low groundwater footprint in the majority of its territory (Hoekstra et al., 2012); however, on a sub-regional or local-level, the situation may be different but there is not enough evidence in the literature.

This is the case of the aquifer system that is located in the Sucre department, found in the north of the country, where small creeks represent the main water surface bodies but run dry several months of the year; hence, major source of supply is groundwater. Besides, the groundwater abstractions in the region, which are mostly for domestic use, are not fully controlled by the environmental entities, as the exploitation areas are very large. Every year the National Water Study shows the condition and dynamics of the water in Colombia (VYDT, 2014); however, the study does not establish a clear division between surface and groundwater footprint. Moreover, the analysis undertaken of hydrogeological zones is more on a national than a sub-regional or local scale. For this reason, it is necessary to assess the current conditions of the aquifers and establish if the levels of water use could lead to water shortages and ecological damage in the short and long term. We believe that the groundwater footprint and groundwater stress indicators, calculated in a spatial way, will provide a more reliable and accurate overview of the situation in Sucre and will be a useful tool for the decision makers to implement suitable water management strategies. In this respect, the main goal of the research is to investigate the applicability of the groundwater footprint concept in a sub-regional level to define water scarcity and design measures to improve sustainability.

Section snippets

Characteristics of the study area

The study area is located in the Sucre department in the north of Colombia, which is a part of the Caribbean region. This department hydrography is composed by a perennial natural network of rivers and marshes located in the southern part (Fig. 1).

Conversely, in the northern part rivers run dry most of the year. The six main aquifers of the Sucre department located within 19 of the 26 municipalities that conform the department represent an area of 5000 km² approximately (Fig. 2a). This area has

Methodology

Water scarcity in a region is defined based on Aldaya et al. (2012) as the ratio of the blue water footprint to the blue water available. In a region in which only groundwater provides water for the different types of demand, the definition needs to take into consideration the ratio of groundwater footprint to groundwater availability. The groundwater footprint (GF) can be defined as the area required to sustain groundwater use and groundwater-dependent ecosystem services

Abstractions

The calculation of the abstractions can be made using information on consumption from water concessions typically provided by environmental entities or water supply companies. However, this was not possible for this case as most of the municipalities within the study area lack of information about consumption. The latter is because in this municipalities there are local water infrastructure rather than municipal water distribution networks. For the particular case of Sincelejo (capital city of

Conclusions

We have used the groundwater footprint to assess water scarcity in a savannah climate region located in northern Colombia. To estimate abstractions, we used the results of a door-to-door survey performed in the study area. Domestic, industrial and agricultural consumption were estimated, and the source of water was defined. Recharge was estimated using a semi-distributed hydrological model based on the concept of approximate infiltration capacity.

Our analysis of the study area suggests that

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Science, Technology, and Innovation Fund of the General System of Royalties of the Republic of Colombia (Fondo de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación del Sistema General de Regalías de la República de Colombia) – Project: Implementación de un modelo hidrológico ambiental para el soporte de decisiones en el departamento de Sucre, Caribe (BPIN: 2013000100021, Código DANE: 70000). The authors also express their gratitude to the Office of the Governor of the State of

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Citation Excerpt :
Through 5000 interviews, the study estimated groundwater abstraction in the study area, such as water needs for cattle, commerce, industry, homes, agro-industry, and agriculture. Their results showed that GFI is considerably higher than for many of the world aquifers (Pérez et al., 2019). In another study, groundwater stress of 28 aquifers in northwestern Iran was investigated.
Groundwater footprint index (GFI) is an essential indicator to assess the sustainability of groundwater aquifers. Prediction of future GFI can significantly help managers and decision-makers of groundwater supply to better plan for future resilient consumption of surface and groundwater. In this context, artificial intelligence and machine learning models can aid to predict GFI in view of lacking or uncertain data. We used this technique to predict GFI for 178 Iranian aquifers. To our knowledge, this is the first time that GFI was predicted using machine learning models. Four models, i.e., adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system, least-squares support vector regression, random forest, and gene expression programming, were used to predict GFI. Systematic combinations of eight variables, including precipitation, recharge, return water, infiltration from the river to the aquifer, groundwater exploitation, aquifer area, evaporation, and river drainage from the aquifer were used in the form of nine input scenarios for GFI prediction. The results showed that inclusion of all input variables gave the best results for predicting the GFI. Predicted GFIs were generally between 0.5 and 8 with an average of 1.9. A value above 1 indicates that groundwater consumption is not resilient that can adversely affect available groundwater resources in the future. Over-use of groundwater can lead to land subsidence. Especially, aquifers located in Qom, Qazvin, Varamin, and Hamedan provinces of Iran may be affected due to large over-use. Among the four models, least-squares support vector regression resulted in the highest prediction performance. Due to the poor performance of adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system, the novel Harris hawks optimization algorithm was used to improve the performance of adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system. The Harris hawks optimization - adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system hybrid model improved the GFI prediction performance. Machine learning methods improve prediction of GFI for aquifers and thus, can be used to better manage groundwater in areas with less reliable data.
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Original ArticlesAssessing sub-regional water scarcity using the groundwater footprint

Highlights

Abstract

Introduction

Section snippets

Characteristics of the study area

Methodology

Abstractions

Conclusions

Acknowledgements

J. Hydrol.

Ecosyst. Serv.

The Water Footprint Assessment Manual: Setting the Global Standard

Determinación de la geometría del Acuífero de Morrosquillo y geología detallada del Acuífero de Toluviejo, Sucre

DYNA

Developing joint probability distributions of soil water retention characteristics

Water Resour. Res.

Delineating hydrological response units by geographical information system analyses for regional hydrological modelling using PRMS/MMS in the drainage basin of the River Bröl, Germany

Hydrol. Process.

Evaluación de las condiciones de uso del agua subterránea en la zona de recarga del acuífero Morroa, Colombia

Water balance of global aquifers revealed by groundwater footprint

Nature

Assessing regional groundwater stress for nations using multiple data sources with the groundwater footprint

Environ. Res. Lett.

Original Articles
Assessing sub-regional water scarcity using the groundwater footprint