Spatiotemporal Analysis of Groundwater Resources in the Saïss Aquifer, Morocco

Abstract

In recent decades, the Saïss plain, in the northwest of Morocco, has experienced a noticeable increase in water demand due to a very significant population growth and economic development, as well as the climate change effects. With the aim of reaching optimal and dynamic management of these water resources, it is essential to have comprehensive and reliable information on the state of the aquifer systems in the region. To achieve this, we assessed a geostatistical analysis of groundwater level data, and created a multivariate regression model. Indeed, in this study, a spatiotemporal analysis of groundwater depth based on piezometric measurements of 45 wells was carried out for the period from 2005 to 2020. It compares and evaluates eight geostatistical interpolation methods and solves the problem of data gaps of the piezometric measurement by completing the chronological series of the groundwater level between 2005 and 2020 using the ARIMA model. The results demonstrate that the variation in the groundwater level between 2005 and 2020 indicates that the water table level is decreased in certain areas, but it has improved or remained constant in other areas. These results emphasize an urgent need for a dynamic management for the conservation of groundwater resources in certain areas of the region under this study.