Strategic and tactical planning to improve groundwater management in the humid Pampa Plain, Argentina

Abstract

Different human activities have a significant impact on the quantity and quality of water resources, which highlights theimportance of implementing a comprehensive management of water resources. In order to address this complex issue,strategic and tactical planning needs to consider social, nature, and economic variables. The goal of this paper was todevelop strategic and tactical planning to contribute to managing the groundwater resource in the General Pueyrredon(GP) District, located in the Humid Pampa Plain, Argentina. To do that, in the first place, a strategic and tactical modelwas designed, using multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) to prioritize GP District basins that need the most managementand to propose applicable management actions to these high priority basins in order to prevent the potential waterpollution hazards. The methodology employed required the collaboration of an interdisciplinary team of experts to developthe strategic and tactical models. These models are designed to prioritize water basins according to diverse criteria, suchas quality and quantity of the water resource, land use, equity, and vulnerability of the aquifer. The results of the strategicanalysis identified five basins with a particularly high need of management. The tactical model proposes specific actionsfor each of these basins. This integrated approach of strategic and tactical planning highlights the importance of consideringboth environmental and socioeconomic aspects in the groundwater management. The developed methodology showsa multidisciplinary and participative approach to managing water resources.