InTheMED project will develop a decision support tool that is easy to use and available to communities on a web platform, by collecting, verifying and analysing the historical information available in the study areas. Through this tool, users - whether they are farmers, water management authorities, municipalities, or industries - will have the possibility of real-time monitoring the evolution of the system and, above all, assessing the impact of their actions in the future. The purpose of the tool is to be “as comprehensive as possible”, not only alerting to waste, but also for the user to understand the impact of their actions on the quantity and quality of water available in groundwater reserves.
“The collection of high-frequency data and its transfer to public access servers, the development of intelligent models using heuristic or machine learning techniques, the design of uncertainty analysis techniques and the use of socio-economic models will be the main lines of action that will be carried out in each case study”, stresses Prof. Gómez-Hernández.
Groundwater is an undervalued resource, so it is necessary to convey to society not only its importance but also its vulnerability. “We must not forget that thanks to groundwater, a third of the world's population can drink and that in some parts of the world it is the only safe source of water, so we must promote an adequate use of the resource”, concludes the coordinator of the project.