Application of a GIS Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis for the Identification of Intrinsic Suitable Sites in Costa Rica for the Application of Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) through Spreading Methods

Abstract

Costa Rica's annual mean precipitation is above 3300 mm, but this precipitation is not evenly distributed in time or space, producing clear differentiated wet and dry seasons in most of the country. Droughts are also common phenomena which greatly affect the availability of water resources. Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) schemes are being taken into consideration to enhance the underground water storage capacity of the country. The present study constitutes the first assessment for the identification of suitable sites for the implementation of MAR technology spreading methods (SM) in Costa Rica. The suitable sites are identified by means of a geographic information system multi-criteria decision analysis (GIS-MCDA) based on four criteria: hydrogeological aptitude, terrain slope, top soil texture and drainage network density. Four steps are performed in order to identify these sites: problem definition, screening for suitable areas, suitability mapping, and sensitivity analysis. The suitability map was divided in two zones after the screening: suitable and unsuitable, the first zone was further divided in five classes according to the weighted linear combination (WLC) ranking. The results indicate that 61% of the country is suitable for conducting SM. This map is a tool for future implementation of MAR techniques in the country.

Web-based global inventory of managed aquifer recharge applications

“…The identification of suitable locations for the implementation of MAR interventions is another tool to improve planning of MAR at regional scale (Bonilla et al 2016). Existing regional MAR suitability maps are collected and made available within the portal to improve accessibility to this information and provide guidance for MAR suitability (Fig.…”

Suitability maps for managed aquifer recharge: a review of multi-criteria decision analysis studies

“…Other land use types considered were urban areas (Riad et al 2011 Slope as a constraint criterion is considered in 48% of the studies. The constraint threshold ranged from restricting areas with slopes of more than 3% (Rahman et al 2013) to areas with slopes of more than 40% (Bonilla et al 2016).…”

“…Some weight assignment methods already include stan- dardized procedures for sensitivity analysis. For MIF, weights can be analyzed by adding or erasing relationships between the criteria (Bonilla et al 2016). For the OWA method, fuzzy linguistic quantifiers are used as a variable for sensitivity analysis (Rahman et al 2013).…”

“…; Fernández Escalante et al 2014), forests (Sethupathi et al 2010; Rahman et al 2013), traffic routes (Ahmadi et al 2017; Owusu et al 2017), and vulner-able or protected natural areas(Bonilla et al 2016;Tsangaratos et al 2017).…”

A Modelling Approach for Assessing the Hydrogeological Equilibrium of the Karst, Coastal Aquifer of the Salento Peninsula (Southeastern Italy): Evaluating the Effects of a MAR Facility for Wastewater Reuse

“…In coastal aquifers, improvement of water volumes by means of MAR techniques results in reduction and prevention of seawater intrusion [20]. Examples of MAR application to manage coastal aquifers may be found in Bonilla Valverde et al [21], Kazakis et al [22,23], and Tzoraki et al [24].…”