The joint application of water supply system security, groundwater modelling, and multicriteria analysis (MCA) indicated the potential of Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) to increase water supply security in Eastern Botswana substantially. Botswana faces increased water stress due to decreased water availability as climate change exacerbates variability in rainfall and increases evaporation losses and water demand.

Groundwater systems are complex and subject to climate change, abstraction, and land use stresses, making quantifying their impacts on aquifers difficult. Groundwater models aim to balance abstraction and aquifer sustainability by simulating the responses of an aquifer to hydrological stresses through groundwater levels. However, these models require extensive spatial data on geological and hydrological properties, which can be challenging to obtain. To address this issue, data-driven machine learning models are used to predict and optimize groundwater levels using available data.

The UNESCO-IHP initiated a project on “Governance of Groundwater Resources in Transboundary Aquifers” in 2013. Three aquifers were selected for case studies: Trifinio (Central America), Pretashkent (Central Asia), and the Stampriet Transboundary Aquifer System (STAS) in southern Africa shared between Botswana, Namibia and South Africa. The project aimed to conduct a detailed assessment of the characteristics, current state and management of transboundary aquifers and to lay the foundations for a multi-country consultation body.

Estimating pumping rates for the purpose of equipping boreholes with suitable pumps that will not over abstract either the boreholes or the aquifer(s) that are intersected is often assessed through test pumping of the boreholes prior to pump selection.

The study area is located in a Swiss alpine valley at the border between Switzerland and France and is situated in Valais. It is delimited by the hydrologic catchment of the river “La Vièze de Morgins”. The catchment area is situated in the Municipality of Troistorrents and of Monthey. Its population is approximately 4500 inhabitants.