News
– The AI-based M-AI-R-DSS platform facilitates the planning and management of these processes by water resource managers
– This European initiative promotes greater groundwater resilience to the effects of climate change
The European MAR2PROTECT project has developed an artificial intelligence-based decision-support system to help water resource managers plan and optimise managed aquifer recharge (MAR). Its ultimate aim is to strengthen groundwater resilience and improve its ability to respond to the effects of climate change.
The M-AI-R-DSS platform, developed by Cetaqua, provides support from the planning stage through to operation. It combines quantitative data from sources such as databases, installed sensors and satellites, as well as the results of models, tools and treatment technologies, with qualitative information gathered by the project through citizen science and the development of public policy recommendations.
M-AI-R-DSS, which was unveiled during a webinar last week, comprises tools for strategic planning, risk assessment, real-time monitoring and operational support, incorporated into two complementary modules.
In the first place, MAR Planning DSS focuses on risk assessment and the analysis of different recharge scenarios, helping to identify the most suitable alternatives and locations for implementing these solutions. In the second place, MAR Operational DSS supports the day-to-day management of MAR systems through real-time monitoring tools and assistance with operational decision-making.
The platform currently contains information from four of the project’s case studies: Marbella, where the tool has been tested in a coastal aquifer potentially affected by saltwater intrusion; Frielas, Portugal; Emilia-Romagna, Italy; and Cape Flats, South Africa. However, the methodology used is replicable across Europe.
In this regard, Isabel Gamallo, Project Manager at Cetaqua and coordinator of the platform’s development, explains: “The platform contains information such as maps showing the suitability and feasibility of implementing aquifer recharge, based on a methodology that can easily be replicated. In fact, the platform has already been used in the Groundwater DataHub project, which aims to improve understanding of the hydrogeological functioning of the aquifers along the Costa del Sol.”
She also points out that “the modules are customisable and have been designed so that users from sectors such as industry, academia and public administration can use them, thanks to the availability of a guided process.”
The project, which will officially conclude at a final event in Brussels at the end of November, has adopted a holistic approach to preventing groundwater contamination resulting from the impacts of climate change through a range of technologies, with the M-AI-R-DSS tool as its main outcome.
MAR2PROTECT is a four-year project funded by the Horizon Europe programme (November 2022–November 2026). It brings together 11 partners from six European countries and two non-European countries. The project is coordinated by NOVA, with Cetaqua, Veolia and FEUGA as its Spanish partners.
Access the platform: https://m2p-dashboard.ambitiousmeadow-d6569a72.westeurope.azurecontainerapps.io/
More information about MAR2PROTECT: https://mar2protect.eu/
Funded by the European Union. The views and opinions expressed are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the funding authority. Neither the European Union nor the funding authority can be held responsible for them.
