GeoSpatial and Artificial intelligence technologies: InnovatiVE approach for water resources management – SAVE water

In many regions of the world, including the Mediterranean and European areas, water needs for irrigation and municipal use are expected to increase. Ensuring these growing needs, in thie context of climate change, constitutes a major challenge, especially in the Mediterranean area.
The situation is more complex ,in regions with a dry climate and overexploited water system and sustainable water management is imposed. In this process, the amount of data related to water management is growing. We propose to bring new opportunities offered by artificial intelligence and geospatial technologies by processing data, optimising water supply services, and gathering all stakeholders. This constitutes the overall objective of SAVE water project.
Other specific objectives are :
(i) Establishing a water system database including gathered Living labs data and already existing data.
(ii) Developing an intelligent system based on real time monitoring water systems and predictive models
(iii) Modelling the impact of land use and climate change on hydrological systems via models based on remote sensing
(iv) Establishing a local adapted vulnerability model for the prevention and protection of highly risked water systems
(v) Analysing socio-economic and environmental impacts as well as proposing sustainable pricing and insurance strategic plans against water scarcity and external shocks
(vi) Integrating insights from a non- Mediterranean case study to enhance the generalizability and transferability of the project's outcomes.
(vii) Developing a collaborative platform including all water system stakeholders
(viii) Exploiting and out-scaling SAVE water innovative approach via communication, dissemination and exploitation plans
The SAVE water project is directly related to Topic 2.1.1 (RIA*) - Effective water accounting approaches under crisis conditions : climate change and external shocks. This initiative strengthens crisis management with early warning systems and resilience strategies, aiming to address complex water issues collaboratively for long-term sustainability.
Compared to previous research studies, the SAVE water project propose an innovative approach for water resources management and tries to address the following challenges :
•The risk of using poor-quality data (incomplete datasets) in water resources management. To deal with such risk, we intend to combine AI algorithms and big data analytics to allow stakeholders to make more informed decisions and improve data-driven insights.
•The modelling complexity: By incorporating artificial intelligence techniques, the accuracy and functionality of models can be enhanced by leveraging different datasets.
•The absence of a common and open database at the service of decision makers and stakeholders. To address this issue, we intend to create a common interactive Dashboard that could serve as a pivotal solution.
•The lack user participation and coordination between water system stakeholders. To address this challenge, we propose to create user-friendly platforms that allow the visualisation of data insights and facilitate collaborative planning
•The discontinuity between government water policies, problems and needs of stakeholders. To deal with this issue, we intend to create AI-driven analytics and geospatial mapping to assist decision-makers in comprehending the impact of their actions on stakeholders.
To achieve these objectives, we will benefit from the rich experience of an interdisciplinary team from several Mediterranean and European countries (2 Tunisia, 2 Morocco, 1 Algeria, 1 Germany, 2 Italy, 1 Egypt, 2 France, 1 Portugal, 1 Spain).