Combined Management of Groundwater Resources and Water Supply Systems at Basin Scale Under Climate Change

Abstract Water stress conditions associated with population growth, climate change, and groundwater contamination, represent a significant challenge for all stakeholders in the water sector. Increasing resilience of Supply Systems (WSSs) becomes fundamental importance: along an adequate level service, sustainability targets must be ensured. A long-term management strategy is strictly connected to holistic approach, based on analyses at different scales. To this end, both modeling tools models, spatial temporal scales, are routinely independently employed. Here, we propose coupled approach combining: i) models (MODFLOW) investigate scenarios, involving change anthropic activities; ii) (Aquator), assess resources availability best large-scale WSS. The implemented starting from input output flows derived by models: leads establish comprehensive framework usually not defined including quantitative characterization aquifer. proposed methodology, general applicable any study area, here WSS Reggio Emilia Province, its main resource, Enza aquifer, considering three scenarios (BAU, ST1, ST2), strategies BAU RV2 , ST2). Among key results, observe that coupling two model types: allows evaluating connection rules; examining more realistic operation choices; iii) permits planning infrastructures basin scale.