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Implications of excessive water withdrawals to the environment of Northern Cyprus
Author(s) -
Elkiran Gozen,
Ongul Zehra
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
water and environment journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.437
H-Index - 37
eISSN - 1747-6593
pISSN - 1747-6585
DOI - 10.1111/j.1747-6593.2008.00123.x
Subject(s) - brackish water , water resources , aquifer , environmental science , water resource management , integrated water resources management , groundwater , saltwater intrusion , intrusion , seawater , seawater intrusion , environmental resource management , environmental planning , salinity , engineering , geology , oceanography , ecology , geotechnical engineering , geochemistry , biology
Northern Cyprus (NC) is at the cutting edge of complete salinization of freshwater resources. In spite of some precautions taken to reduce seawater intrusion of the groundwater resources, the contamination had increased up to brackish water attribute in the coastal aquifers. The Integrated Water Resources Planning and Management (IWRM) system was introduced as a powerful tool in order to identify water consumption in the country. To perform the future forecast, it is necessary to determine the water needs at the present time; thus, this research analysed the present and historical water budget of the country under normal and drought conditions. The calculations were extended to future forecasting of water needs considering different scenarios for the country. The results obtained were grouped into monthly, sector wise and regional consumptions. The water extractions are linked to the available water amounts, and the water deficiencies in the aquifers were revealed. A rough economical analysis of new water resources was also performed. Conclusions and recommendations are provided to guide scientists, engineers and stakeholders for the future studies and evaluations.