Groundwater Monitoring Systems to Understand Sea Water Intrusion Dynamics in the Mediterranean: The Neretva Valley and the Southern Venice Coastal Aquifers Case Studies

Sea water intrusion (SWI) has been widely recognized as a global problem, significantly influencing coastal aquifers, mostly through reduced water quality and agricultural production indicators. In this paper, we present the outcomes of the implementation of two independent real-time monitoring systems, planned and installed to get insights on groundwater dynamics within the adjacent coastal aquifer systems, one located in the Neretva Valley, southeastern Croatia, the other located south of the Venice lagoon, northeastern Italy. Both systems are presented with technical details and the capacity to observe, store, and transmit (Neretva site) observed values in real-time. Analysis of time series reveals the significant influence of the sea level oscillations onto the observed groundwater electrical conductivity (EC) and piezometric head values, while precipitation rate is detected as a driving mechanism for groundwater parameters in shallow geological units. The installed monitoring systems are shown to be of great importance to provide qualitative and quantitative information on the processes influencing groundwater and surface water dynamics within two coastal systems.

Automated summary

Sea water intrusion is a global issue affecting coastal aquifers, with this study focusing on two real-time monitoring systems in Croatia and Italy to understand groundwater dynamics influenced by sea level oscillations and precipitation rates. The systems are shown to be crucial in providing qualitative and quantitative information on groundwater and surface water dynamics.