WATERKNOW - Integrated Water Management in Coastal Drainage Basins: challenges and adaptation strategies within the framework of climate change

The WATERKNOW research project is focused on groundwater and surface water modelling and on integrated management of water resources with methodologies that consider: the effects of land use change and crops on the parameters of the water budget; saltwater intrusion in surface water bodies and aquifers; change of coastal ecosystems; freshwater availability in the catchments during the year; integrated management with stakeholders involvement and the development of Decision Support Systems (DSS) based on GIS databases and making use of Data mining techniques. The project has involved three test sites (Tahadart Basin - Morocco, Quinto Bacino - Italy, Terciera, Azores, Portugal) to develop a decision support systems (DSS) for the integrated management of coastal areas. The following elements will be included: • Groundwater and surface water modeling • Integrated management of water resources with methodologies that consider the effects of land use change and crops on the parameters of the water budget • Salt water intrusion in surface water bodies and aquifers • Change of coastal ecosystems • Variability of freshwater availability in the catchments during the year • Integrated management with stakeholders • GIS and datamining techniques The results of this project can be applied by local administrators in Mediterranean countries to adapt water management strategies in coastal zones to increasing drought and desertification climate conditions.