A new multidisciplinary approach for groundwater resources sustainability in arid regions: case study from Fujairah Emirate

Authors : Ahmed Sefelnasr · Mohsen Sherif · Dalal Al Shamsi · Assaad Kassem· Aseela Al Moalla  · Fouad Lamghari Ridouane  · Shaher Bano  · Pakam Subraelu  · Khaled Mohamed  · Abdel Azim Ebraheem

Abstract Population growth, and enhanced irrigation practices in arid regions have driven an increase in groundwater mining for agricultural purposes over the past seventy years. The World Economic Forum identified water-scarcity issues as the foremost global risk in 2023. Improper water resources management in arid areas can be attributed to several factors: inaccurate assessment of available water resources and their sources of replenishment, and the misconception that climate change uniformly exerts negative impacts across all times and regions, which is not accurate. Additionally, there is a lack of interdisciplinary approaches in evaluating and planning water resources in general, and agricultural water in particular. The challenge of water scarcity jeopardizes both water and food security in arid regions, primarily due to improper management rather than insufficient water availability. Most existing water security models primarily focus on large-scale variations, often at the national level. While such approaches provide a rapid assessment of water security challenges, their utility for local-scale water resources planning is highly limited. Addressing this shortcoming constitutes the central focus and primary innovation of the present study. The developed multidisciplinary framework was adopted to evaluate water availability and security, integrating a GIS-based Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), groundwater budget modeling, estimation of groundwater extraction rates, and assessment of replenishment ratios from multiple recharge sources. The resulting analyses were then applied to develop several sustainable management alternatives for groundwater resources in both surficial and deep aquifers of the Fujairah Emirate, United Arab Emirates, serving as a representative case study of arid-region conditions. Keywords Water resources management · Multidisciplinary thinking approach · Water security/stress · Fujairah Emirate · Water budget modeling · Sustainability Indicators

1. Context and Rationale

Water scarcity is now one of the most critical global risks, particularly in arid regions where rapid population and agricultural growth have intensified groundwater extraction. The study addresses the urgent need for localized, data-driven models that can evaluate and sustain groundwater resources under changing climate conditions. Traditional water-security models operate at national or regional scales, lacking the precision to guide local water-management strategies.

The research introduces a multidisciplinary analytical framework integrating GIS-based spatial modeling, Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), groundwater-budget modeling, and recharge assessment to assess water availability, sustainability, and resilience in the Emirate of Fujairah (UAE)—a representative arid-region case. The work involves collaboration among the UAE University, Fujairah Environment Authority, and the Fujairah Research Centre (FRC).

2. Methodological Framework

The framework combines spatial data analytics, hydrogeologic mapping, and modeling to evaluate groundwater storage, recharge, and abstraction dynamics:

• Data Integration: Field surveys, lithological logs, satellite imagery (Sentinel), and historical records were digitized and validated within a GIS geodatabase.

• Groundwater-Budget Model (GWBM): Quantifies recharge, discharge, and groundwater reserve across 312,000 grid cells, providing spatially explicit estimates of usable groundwater (fresh, brackish, saline).

• Recharge Estimation: Employed both the Water-Table Fluctuation (WTF) and Potential Methods to calculate infiltration and rainfall contribution; recharge percentages ranged from 8 to 14 % (WTF) and averaged 10 % (potential method).

• Sustainability Indicators: The lifespan of groundwater reserves (in years) was calculated under a “business-as-usual” abstraction scenario to identify sustainable versus depleted zones.

• Climate-Change Scenarios: Comparative precipitation and runoff maps (average vs. wet years 2023–24) quantified recharge shifts due to extreme rainfall events, with runoff exceeding 1,000 MCM in 2024.

• Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP): Weighted layers of geology, topography, salinity, soil, and land use were combined to produce geopotential maps identifying optimal areas for water-harvesting and agriculture.

3. Key Findings

3.1. Hydrogeology and Recharge

• Fujairah’s water system is dominated by the Quaternary aquifer, underlain by fractured ophiolite and karstified limestone.

• Groundwater recharge primarily occurs via wadi infiltration and dams—45 rain-harvesting structures currently operate, but total capacity is insufficient for extreme flood years.

• The 2023–24 wet period resulted in exceptional recharge volumes (625 MCM UAE-wide), reversing decades of decline in water-table levels and reducing coastal salinity.

3.2. Groundwater Quality and Trends

• Freshwater volumes dropped sharply between 1969 and 2015 due to over-abstraction, then rebounded by 2023 thanks to heavy rainfall and recharge-dam effects.

• Brackish water peaked in 2015 due to saltwater intrusion, then declined as aquifer replenishment improved.

• In Fujairah alone, the total groundwater reserve in 2023 was ≈ 5.3 billion m³, with 3.8 billion m³ fresh to slightly brackish.

3.3. Sustainability and Agriculture

• Only 15 % (1,265 farms) were found to have sustainable groundwater use; 85 % are operating unsustainably.

• Viable mixed-agriculture zones cover just 12 ha when drawing solely from the Quaternary aquifer but expand to 1,650 ha when coupled with the limestone aquifer.

• 919 ha are suitable for vegetable farming under modern irrigation (< 3,000 mg/L TDS, > 25-year lifespan).

• Forestry development using salt-tolerant and indigenous trees (e.g., Ziziphus spina-christi / Al Sidr) could cover > 1,800 ha, offering ecological, economic, and pollination benefits for local honey production.

3.4. Recharge and Abstraction Balance (2023)

Parameter	Study Area (3,136 km²)	Fujairah (1,552 km²)
Total abstraction (irrigation + domestic)	≈ 231 MCM/yr	117 MCM/yr
Total recharge (rain + return + network losses)	≈ 109 MCM/yr	70 MCM/yr
Net storage change	−122 MCM	−47 MCM

The negative balance highlights that withdrawals still exceed recharge, underscoring the need for stricter management policies and artificial-recharge expansion.

4. Climate-Resilient and Sustainable-Management Recommendations

1. Expand rainfall-harvesting infrastructure (additional dams, infiltration galleries, and aquifer-recharge basins) to retain future flood volumes.

2. Enhance groundwater monitoring networks, particularly in deep fractured-rock aquifers, to track salinity and recharge trends.

3. Adopt precision irrigation and micro-irrigation systems, replacing inefficient flood irrigation.

4. Integrate treated wastewater (TSE) and virtual-water strategies into the national water budget.

5. Diversify land use toward low-consumption crops and forestry projects that deliver ecological and economic returns (e.g., honey, medicinal products).

6. Strengthen institutional collaboration between the Fujairah Research Centre and Environment Authority to maintain a unified geodatabase and update sustainability indicators annually.

5. Conclusion

This research establishes a replicable, data-driven model for arid-region groundwater sustainability, demonstrating that multidisciplinary GIS and hydrogeologic integration can convert climate challenges into opportunities. Fujairah’s 2023–2024 rainfall proved that positive aquifer recovery is possible when natural events are coupled with robust management and monitoring.

The study calls for continuous observation, adaptive planning, and community engagement to secure long-term water and food security in the UAE and similar arid environments. The developed approach—grounded in science, data, and governance—positions Fujairah as a model for sustainable groundwater management across the Gulf region.

Dowload full publication: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40899-025-01299-0