Selection of managed aquifer recharge practices in Latin America

The overall goal of the DIGIRES project (“Digitally-enabled green infrastructure for sustainable water resources management in Latin America and the Caribbean”) is the development and utilisation of ICT-based tools, coupled with citizen science observations, for the design and implementation of managed aquifer recharge (MAR) as nature-inspired solution for sustainable water resources management in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). This technique is defined as a “purposeful recharge of an aquifer for later recovery or environmental benefits” and despite its well-known ability to viably and sustainably supply water in urban and peri-urban areas, its implementation is still very limited in many regions. In fact, MAR is mostly recognised as a tool to improve the availability of water for agricultural productivity or drinking water provisioning. However, groundwater recharge can also help to achieve many other objectives such as supporting riparian habitats, mitigating floods, reducing runoff and erosion, controlling land subsidence, improving coastal water quality and increasing the minimum flow in rivers. With this perspective, MAR should be considered as an increasingly relevant non-conventional and innovative solution for future integrated water management planning in LAC with the goal of maintaining, enhancing and replenishing stressed groundwater systems and, at the same time, ensuring the maintenance of ecological processes to mitigate climate change and preserve biodiversity.