Prioritization of sustainable groundwater management needs: The case of the Israel's stressed Coastal aquifer

On-going population growth and resulting domestic demand for water require rapid and effective decision-making as regards groundwater management and control of the various sources of salinization and pollution in Coastal aquifers. Sustainability of water resources for utilization by future generations must therefore be a high priority, not only for the purpose of fulfilling needs for water usage but also for bringing people into harmony with their ambient natural environment. The objective of this paper is to propose an empirical approach for prioritization of the needs involved for sustainable aquifer management. The approach involves a schematic format to: (1) develop a global understanding of an aquifer's hydrological and environmental properties in order to delineate appropriate eco-hydrological scenarios and recommend corresponding operational management activities; and (2) emphasize the importance of educating and increasing the awareness of the population involved as to the need for and viability of socially acceptable measures for sustainable management of groundwater and other resources. The psychologist Abraham Maslow utilized a pyramid to illustrate that until people's most basic needs were fulfilled, higher levels of needs would remain irrelevant. This paper postulates a comparable pyramid prioritizing hydrological needs required for progressing towards sustainable groundwater resources. Two sub-regions of Israel's Coastal aquifer in the Sharon region have been presented as representative areas, each characterized by different stress of exploitation. In assessing these sub-regions situation, specific measures have been recommended for achieving and/or maintaining sustainable groundwater resources in light of the ambient environment, and the level of the population on the pyramidal hierarchy of groundwater needs.