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This report describes the methodology used to enhance local stakeholders' capacity to manage water resources sustainably and to reduce their quantitative and qualitative pressure on these resources. The three-stage approach was designed to be utilized consistently across all case studies in the project. So far, it has enabled the collaborative development of particular, context-specific solutions. As a result, the target group varies depending on the characteristics of each context: in the case of Wadi El Bey, it is industrialists; in the case of Malia, it is farmers and hotels; and in the case of Arborea and Erdemli, it is mostly farmers. The 4Rs approach is used in the solution design process.

Human activities place additional pressure on the limited water resources in arid and semi-arid areas, and the overexploitation of groundwater threatens its quality and sustainability. Non-conventional water represents an alternative and extra resource in this situation. Reuse and recycling the treated wastewater reduce the pollution and protect the groundwater resources against pollution and reinforce their sustainability. Textile industry produce and release wastewater near rivers in the Grombalia case study site (Tunisia), which is characterized by high levels of organic, inorganic materials and dyes residues. Innovative scenarios based on the anodic oxidation of textile effluents are developed in the current study. The findings of treated wastewater quality, treatment costs, and related environmental impacts are contrasted with those of in situ treatment (a reference scenario). The effectiveness of electrochemical technology is related to the simultaneous oxidation and reduction on bipolar BDD electrodes. Three optimized treatment scenarios are proposed to improve the real-world applicability of the sustainable treatment. The best solution is the anodic oxidation post-treatment which was selected based on pollution removal and economic costs. Eco-efficiency results confirmed this choice in terms of environmental benefits which are quantified by COD removal enhancement and water reuse potential., This research is supported by the PRIMA program under grant agreement No1923, project InTheMED. The PRIMA program is supported by the European Union

This document collects the work done in the first part of Task 5.3 " Development and Upscaling of Remediation Technologies" and represents both D5.3a Report on the Appropriate Innovative Remediation Process Developed and M5.3a First Draft of the Innovative Remediation Strategies Performed. The aim of this document is to define specific water remediation strategies for the different cases studies of the project. This subtask is based on the results of the training session on sustainable integrated water management and the living lab, which involved stakeholders in a social learning process for the design of new water management in accordance with the 4Rs principle (Reduce, Recycle, Reuse, and Recover). Alternative technologies, specifically for the treatment of industrial wastewater, have been evaluated to establish the most ecoefficient practice., This project is part of the PRIMA Programme supported by the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No 1923.

Groundwater sources in arid and semi-arid regions are expected to be gradually more stressed due to multiple causes, such as the depletion of surface water resources, water quality degradation, increasing demand of agriculture and economic and demographic growth. As a result, there is a need to secure the availability and quality of groundwater reserves in those areas. Large and high-dimensional datasets are required to fully characterize the physico-chemical properties of the complex groundwater processes. Statistical tools are used to provide estimations of these properties beyond the sampling locations, which are required in order to provide reliable assessments of the associated risks. Geostatistical tools are widely used in groundwater applications to estimate the spatial variability of quality parameters by combining different types of datasets to build local models of spatial uncertainty. Special attention is given to the kriging method, which provides an estimate of the unknown quality variable value along with a measure of uncertainty regarding that estimate. In the current study, groundwater samples are collected from an unconfined aquifer, located at north-eastern Grombalia (Tunisia). Ordinary kriging is used to estimate the spatial variability of piezometric levels and quality parameters. Sampling data are subjected to suitable transformations prior geostatistical computations so that the Gaussian assumption is satisfied, whereas the results are back-transformed to the original space. Different numbers of neighboring data points are considered to decide the spatial extent of the search neighborhood by comparing cross-validation errors. In addition, indicator kriging is used to construct probability maps of the quality parameters, and identify regions that possess high probability to exceed irrigation water quality standards., This research is partially supported by the PRIMA Programme supported by the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No 1923 (InTheMED).

In this work, the living lab is used to co-design innovative institutional arrangements to govern and sustainably manage local water resources. The co-creation process is carried out according to a decentralized participatory and actor-centered approach and using the social learning concept. The stakeholders involved in water management, including local authorities, users, citizens and researchers, are brought together to analyse the sustainability issues of the social-ecological system at the Wadi El Bey watershed level. The researchers have designed the Wadi el Bey living lab as a social arena where the local actors can meet. At the first stage of this process, and until the consensus on the new governance is reached, the actors are guided via various activities such as participatory mapping, inversing role, and expressing motivations and expectations. These interactive activities aimed to build a relevant, comprehensive, and common vision on the issues related to the management of local groundwater resources.

The growing number of inhabitants and anthropogenic activities in agricultural and industrial sectors in Grombalia coastal aquifer (Tunisia) is concretely affecting the quality and the quantity of the shallow aquifer. The conventional sampling used for the Grombalia groundwater quality monitoring seems to be inadequate (only 35 points in a study area of 372 Km2) to allow good understanding of the groundwater system. Indeed, 80 % of the total number points are dedicated to piezometric monitoring. Sampling representativeness, sampling procedures and time are significant determinants for efficient groundwater monitoring. This study highlighted the use of High-Resolution Monitoring Sensors (HRMS) in Grombalia coastal aquifer (Tunisia) as a‘green’ tool to reinforce and strengthen/or replace the existing aquifer monitoring network in the study area. Three “in-situ” HRMS (Aqua TROLL 500) were implemented in three identified hotspots points. They are equipped with interchangeable sensors measuring Temperature, Nitrate, and Water Depth delivering high-fidelity and high-frequency data in-sync with online remotely operated platform and provide the possibility to identify fleeting events that may not be detected by the low frequency of existing conventional monitoring system. The obtained results in June 2022 showed a significant drawdown of almost 2.5 m from the normal level recorded in the same period in 2020, in two among of three monitoring points. The excessive groundwater pumping rate and the increase of illicit pumping wells number have greatly affected the Grombalia groundwater reserves. It was noticed that the nitrate concentrations exceed the drinking water standard limit (50 mg/L), reaching 63 mg/L and 104 mg/L respectively in two among of three monitoring points. This increase could be due to the use of nitrate based chemical fertilizers by farmers during this period which increasingly degrades the quality of the groundwater. The HRMS implemented in the study area is proving great flexibility in collecting accurate and reliable data, with fewer resources and time need to be spent gathering data. The HRMS-based innovative monitoring system is used to control the groundwater withdrawals and quality and constitutes a solid demonstrative basis to propose remediation actions guaranteeing a sustainable, intelligent, and instantaneous management of the coastal aquifer of Grombalia., This research is supported by the PRIMA program under grant agreement No1923, project InTheMED. The PRIMA program is supported by the European Union.

Different developed activities in Grombalia area, located in the North-East of Tunisia, affect the quality and the quantity of the groundwater. This work focus on updated monitoring of several parameters such as, electric conductivity, nitrates, and COD of twenty wells’ samples to assess the shallow aquifer water quality, and its suitability in industrial and agricultural use. The results reveal a significant degradation of groundwater quality. Indeed, the average nitrate concentration of groundwater has increased from 113 mg/L to 138.69 mg/L to around 150 mg/L in 2021 which is higher than the above threshold value.Egally, the results show that 75% of wells exceed the standard of fresh water which indicates that the groundwater is mainly brackish and thus unfit for human consumption. For industrial use, the analytical results indicates that the water hardness is high reaching a value greater than 200 °f in some wells and exceeds the standard required by industries which must be between 1°f and 4°f. However, the quality of the groundwater under study is relatively good for agricultural use considering the evaluation results of suitability indicators for water irrigation. The remediation of this situation requires the establishment of a clear and sustainable strategy in cooperation with the users and managers of this aquifer., This research is supported by the PRIMA program under grant agreement No1923, project InTheMED. The PRIMA program is supported by the European Union.

The PRIMA Sustain-COAST European project aims at exploring innovative governance for sustainable coastal groundwater management and pollution reduction in the context of a changing climate. Four study sites have been selected, among them the Wadi El-Bey watershed in Tunisia, located about 40 km south of Tunis. The study area is the Grombalia aquifer whose size is approximately 391 km². It is boarded to the north by the Gulf of Tunis and the Tekelsa Hills, to the east by the Abderrahman Mountain and the oriental coastal highlands, to the south by the Hammamet Hills, and to the west by the Bou Choucha and the Halloufa mountains. The Grombalia aquifer constitutes a complex aquifer system formed by shallow unconfined, semi deep, and deep aquifers with different exploitation levels. The interest of the study relies on the upper aquifer. Surface flow occurs mainly in 5 wadis toward the north, reflecting regional topographic gradients. During the last few decades, the Grombalia shallow unconfined aquifer had been under stress by groundwater pumping due to the increasing population and development of agricultural and industrial activities. Recently, it has been noticed in some wells a rise in the level of the water table due to the abandonment of the exploitation of surface wells and to the irrigation by the water transferred from the north of the country, and considerable deterioration of groundwater quality due to saltwater intrusion and increased nitrate contamination as well as the organic matter in terms of COD. A groundwater numerical model for the Grombalia aquifer has been developed using Feflow 7.4 to simulate groundwater level changes under steady state and transient conditions. The steady state flow calibration was carried out using the water levels measured 1972 in 35 observation wells and then used as initial state of the Grombalia aquifer system. The groundwater model constitutes a solid basis for further studies under transient flow and transport conditions to compare different water management, climate change and contamination scenarios, and is part of the calibrated multi-criteria decision supporting system developed in the PRIMA Sustain-COAST project context.

The current document, Deliverable D5.2, is part of Task 5.2 “Capacity building on sustainable integrated water management” and targets reinforcing stakeholder capacity at the regional level, contribute to the strengthening of water related organizations, and to prepare a regional roster of experts from the MED countries who can deal successfully with sustainable water management issues in the region. There will be a call for the interested stakeholders identified in Task 5.1, who will be engaged in a social learning process for the design of new water management consistent with the 4R principle (Reduce, Recycle, Reuse and Recover) and to implement the best available technologies for an efficient treatment of their effluents. Special attention will be put on reusing treated wastewater as an alternative source of irrigation, in-situ reuse in industrial processes, and aquifer recharge. The results will be disseminated through participatory interactive sessions (Living Labs) in close collaboration with WP4 and all case-study partners. Attention will be put on the socio-economic aspects (WP4) and (WP6)., This project is part of the PRIMA Programme supported by the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No 1923.

The PRIMA Sustain-COAST European project aims at exploring innovative governance for sustainable coastal groundwater management and pollution reduction in the context of a changing climate by involving researchers, local citizens, water stakeholders, and policy makers in interactive dialogue. Four study sites have been selected, among them the Wadi El-Bey watershed in Tunisia, located about 40 km south of Tunis. The study area is the Grombalia aquifer whose size is approximately 391 km². It is boarded to the north by the Gulf of Tunis and the Tekelsa Hills, to the east by the Abderrahman Mountain and the oriental coastal highlands, to the south by the Hammamet Hills, and to the west by the Bou Choucha and the Halloufa mountains. The Grombalia aquifer is bounded northward by the Mediterranean Sea and westward by the Gulf of Tunis. It constitutes a complex aquifer system formed by shallow unconfined, semi deep, and deep aquifers with different exploitation levels. The interest of the study relies on the upper aquifer. Surface flow occurs mainly in 5 wadis toward the north, reflecting regional topographic gradients. During the last few decades, the Grombalia shallow unconfined aquifer had been under stress by groundwater pumping due to the increasing population and development of agricultural and industrial activities. Recently, it has been noticed in some wells a rise in the level of the water table due to the abandonment of the exploitation of surface wells and to the irrigation by the water transferred from the north of the country, and considerable deterioration of groundwater quality due to saltwater intrusion and increased nitrate contamination as well as the organic matter in terms of COD. A groundwater numerical model for the Grombalia aquifer has been developed using Feflow 7.4 to simulate groundwater level changes under steady state and transient conditions. The steady state flow calibration was carried out using the water levels measured 1972 in 35 observation wells and then used as initial state of the Grombalia aquifer system. To show the influence of groundwater management, especially for agricultural activities, and interaction with surface water, measurements of water level, water temperature, pH, electric conductivity and water quality data (e.g., nitrate concentration) have been conducted during the 2020 field campaign, at selected monitoring wells and in neighbouring transects of surface water. The groundwater model constitutes a solid basis for further studies under transient flow and transport conditions to compare different water management, climate change and contamination scenarios, and is part of the calibrated multi-criteria decision supporting system developed in the PRIMA Sustain-COAST project context.

The current document presents a report on the five case studies characterization. The scientific team in this document collected and analysed all the available data for the demo sites in Tunisia, Portugal, Spain, Greece and Turkey and made an assessment on how the real situation is in each site. All five sites are investigated through a detailed SWOT analysis to identify the main groundwater problems, hotspots and key stakeholders, which are needed in WP2 (Task 2.1) and WP4 (Task 4.1). D5.1 highlighted the main issues such as water supplies, wastewater production, stream flows, rainfall, groundwater levels, pumping rates, water threats, hotposts needing immediate intervention and summarize the status of the aquifer. The deliverable 5.1 aims to help the setup of the best monitoring strategy for each case study using the HRMA, which will be carried out in Task 2.1 (WP2)., This project is part of the PRIMA Programme supported by the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No 1923.

In the present study, a surface water quality assessment of Wadi El Bey, located in the northeast of Tunisia and considered a highly polluted river, was performed to evaluate the water quality status and identify the hotspots requiring immediate intervention. A monitoring program using sampling series along Wadi El Bey was carried out during two years. The samples were analyzed in situ and at the laboratory using chromatographic analysis, multi-parameter sounds and high-resolution monitoring sensors (HRMS). The main focus was to monitor the polluted sources discharging to the Wadi. Several physicochemical parameters were assessed in this study, including pH, electrical conductivity (EC), turbidity, salinity, chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), dry residue, suspended solids, dissolved oxygen (DO), chloride, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate, sulfate, calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium. The obtained results confirmed the alarming water quality deterioration status at the different hotspots, characterized mainly by high concentrations of nitrates and COD. This pollution is due to the discharge of untreated and insufficient treated municipal and industrial wastewaters directly in the Wadi, increasing anthropogenic. The study reveal a significant pollution degree and water quality degradation, affecting the ecosystem integrity.

This work carries the social learning process out via Living Labs in order to construct a common vision on sustainable groundwater management. In this process, the scientific and local knowledge are integrated. This study is part of Sustain-COAST project co-funded by PRIMA programme. Stakeholders’ active engagement is realized via Living Labs, which are participatory actions that encourage the dialogue among private and public actors, create institutionalized space for discussion and vision sharing, and analyze the stakeholder-suggested mitigation options. A stakeholder mapping took place, that is the list of all the key groups, organizations, and people involved to water management in the study area. Further analysis was carried out to better understand stakeholders’ roles and perspectives, within the first Living Lab, organized in Malia. 55 stakeholders interacted gathered, including water users, policy makers, local and regional authorities, water management and supply associations, socio-ecological and cultural associations, NGOs, citizens, technicians, external experts, scientists. Stakeholders got involved in social learning actions, knowing each other, expressed their motivations and expectations to participate in the first Living Lab and the project. Afterwards, a participatory session followed by implementing digital ICT tools (Mentimeter App.), which is an opinion survey technique that might improve societal awareness and stakeholders’ active engagement in water management. Afterwards, an interactive participatory map activity took place, which enabled the study site’s characterization according to key-stakeholders’ perception, knowledge, and expertise on water management issues in the area. Stakeholders collaborated in groups and filled maps of the study area with significant spatial data and information. Participants were asked to express their common vision on Malia in an entertaining puzzle activity.The aforementioned interactive sessions enabled the extraction of the raised water issues in Malia as well as the suggestion of possible options . The need for sustainable and balanced development taking into account principles of law and equal accessibility for all was specifically noted by stakeholders. Stakeholders evaluated the Living Labs as an innovative interactive and interesting way of exchanging views among institutions and citizens, through participation and technological means. Living Labs are expected to provide significant information exchange among institutions and actors and provide realistic and socially acceptable suggestions for the local community. Stakeholders are directly involved and motivated to maintain their active engagement in a longlasting process via future Living Labs in Malia. Such actions increase governance capacity by addressing people’s skills in jointly decision-making and engaging stakeholders in a social learning process through participation. Actions that encourage dialogue among different actors and use innovative mediation techniques form the best options to improve and integrate water governance.

This document represents the evidence of compliance with Deliverable 3.2: Report on Surrogate Models in the Case Studies “Innovative and Sustainable Groundwater Management in the Mediterranean” Grant Agreement Number 1923 project. &nbsp