*4.2.4 Recharging aquifers/groundwater*

Groundwater is an important source of supply for basic human needs and development across countries of the Maghreb. In many parts of the region, groundwater is the only reliable source of water. As pressures on groundwater resources increase with growing population, economic growth and climate change, there is a need to more practices sources of water supply. Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) is one of these good practices.

Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) also called artificial recharge (AR) is the enhancement of natural groundwater supplies with excess surface water or reclaimed wastewater. It is a process by which excess runoff is directed into the ground accomplished by augmenting the natural infiltration to replenish an aquifer, using man-made conveyances such as infiltration basins, field flooding, infiltration galleries or injection wells [36]. MAR cases are concentrated in highly populated regions of the Maghreb. **Table 2** shows the different MAR cases implanted in the countries of the Maghreb and its different MAR types. The highest number of MAR cases is in Tunisia and lowest one is in Morocco. The most common MAR type in the Maghreb is the surface spreading/infiltration method which is the most practiced in Tunisia (**Table 2**).

Generally, the principal purpose of the MAR schemes is to ensure water supply. The first application of MAR in the Maghreb was started in 1965 (Tunisia) and rise considerably in the 1990s [65].
