Preliminary results from a methodology study in the field of groundwater resources management

Increasing water demand, conflicts among utilizations, water-body pollution have given a considerable impulse to the application of systems analysis techniques also to the field of groundwater resources management. In line with this, some mathematical simulation and optimization models taking into account the various aspects of management have been prepared. The first of these models, known as IDROSIM, is actually a package including various flow models developed both for the problem of parameter identification (distribution of transmissivity and porosity parameters, etc.) and for the so called direct problem. The second model, called IASO, deals with modifications in water quality as a function of pollution from urban, industrial or agricultural sources. The third model, called IDROPROG, sets out to apply linear programming techniques to the aquifer in order to optimize water resource utilization. Finally, problems of combined management of both groundwater and surface water are investigated by means of a fourth model, dubbed IDRINTEGRO. All these models are currently being tested on a coastal aquifer extending over an area of 600 km2 on the Ionian side of the Puglia region of Italy. This paper makes a comprehensive survey of the principles on which the models are based, and provides further details on the IDROSIM simulation model.