JOAQUIM FARGUELL PEREZ

Mitigating the impact of extreme hydrological events and ensuring safe water supply for humanity and ecosystems is one of the greatest challenges of our time. The main water reserves are in the aquifers, as groundwater. The connection of groundwater to surface water bodies and ecosystems makes these reserves vulnerable to extreme events, but in this context, general knowledge of groundwater is very limited. Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) is an engineering approach to the intentional recharge of aquifers. The approach proposed by the group considers groundwater flow systems in MAR techniques providing a new nature-based MAR approach (NB-MAR) which can play a future role in the mitigation of extreme climate events. The research intends to display: 1) the influence of natural extremes on groundwater, 2) the application of NB-MAR to buffer climate events, 3) the impacts on groundwater quantity/quality, 4) the workflow for the involvement of the NB-MAR in society engagement, communication, education, 5) the consideration of groundwater flow systems and their replenishment with excess water in decision-making, 6) the integration of NB-MAR to water policies and develop a sustainable regulatory environment. These goals can improve water management, resilience, security and contribute to human rights. The project handles groundwater flow systems as the critical missing element of better water management. Different flow systems are naturally buffered against drought and flood. We propose to use the natural differences to balance drought and flood by NB-MAR methods through water replenishment. The project aims to have an impact on multidisciplinary fields. (I) Natural scientific field: it produces datasets, models, recommendations to disentangle i) trends of climate-hydrological extremes, ii) their impact on groundwater bodies, iii) the climate buffering role of groundwater flow systems, its better exploitation. iv) Generation of knowledge on the buffering capacity of aquifers. v) Returning to society: a) monitoring tools for indicators; b) open access guides, events on buffering capacity of groundwater flow and NB-MARs; c) a decision support system. (II) Socio-legal field: the project aims i) to elaborate materials that inform future NB-MAR projects to support the goals of local/regional sustainable water management; ii) to develop duration guidelines by the cooperation of scientists, communication and educational experts using evidence-based assessment of efficiency; iii) to produce a) a scientific publication on the stakeholder value propositions for NB-MAR solutions, b) a briefing document for policymakers with communication guidelines for NB-MAR solutions, c) digital, customizable communication packages; iv) to create a method to integrate environmental, agricultural, industrial, and public service provision policies on water. The proposal connects to Themes III, VII, V; Topics 1,2,3. Mostly it connects to Theme III, addressing knowledge gaps by involving groundwater flow systems in understanding the connection between groundwater, surface water bodies and extreme events, the management of water schemes and the recharge of aquifers (1.1) It develops an innovative understanding of how underground flow influences the quality/quantity of water processes (1.2) It proposes a nature-based water replenishment approach and intends to create a new methodology regarding groundwater's buffering role (Topic 2.2). It proposes a governance model (Theme VII) based on dashboard indicators to reduce vulnerability to extreme events (3.1), to reach more efficient citizen and stakeholder awareness and support the proposed strategy for mitigation and adaptation to hydroclimatic events (Topic 2.1). The dashboard can apply to transboundary water resources and help in water diplomacy (Topic 1.3, 3.2). In terms of infrastructure (Theme V), the results help decision-makers reveal necessary adaptation steps to mitigate water infrastructure resilience.