Bayesian networks in planning a large aquifer in Eastern Mancha, Spain

The Eastern Mancha Aquifer is located in the south-east of the Iberian Peninsula and is included in the hydrogeological unit of the same name. This aquifer is the main source of water for urban, industrial and agricultural supply within its area of influence. Over the past 30 years, the transformation of dry crop lands in the area of this Unit into irrigated crop lands, through groundwater capture, has caused precise declines in piezometric levels of the aquifer, as extraction volumes have exceeded recharge water volumes. This work illustrates the results obtained by using Bayesian networks in the sustainable planning of the Eastern Mancha aquifer. The actions through which this goal can be met are the partial substitution of groundwater with surface water, the improvement of irrigation efficiency and the adequate control of water use. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.