From October 21 to 23, 2025, the IGME-CSIC headquarters in Murcia hosted the ARID-Clepsydra Workshop on Groundwater Monitoring Networks. International experts from Morocco, Tunisia, Brazil, France, and Spain gathered to exchange experiences on water quality control and management in arid and semi-arid regions.
This event was organized within the framework of the Clepsydra project (InterregEuro-MED), led by the IGME-CSIC, and in collaboration with the ARID scientific network, funded by the French Research Institute for Development (IRD). The meeting included a technical visit to the Campo de Cartagena and the Mar Menor lagoon, where participants—sociologists, economists, agronomists, hydrologists, hydrogeologists, and experts in integrated water resources management—learned about the area’s advanced groundwater monitoring infrastructure. Specifically, a visit was made to the Campo de Cartagena Irrigation Community, a partner in the CLEPSYDRA project, to learn about water distribution and the agronomic and aquifer monitoring networks.
At the Tomás Ferro Experimental Farm of the UPCT (Polytechnic University of Cartagena), explanations were received from MITECO (Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge) and TRAGSATEC (Technical Agency for the Development of the Campo de Cartagena Irrigation System) regarding the recent results of the continuous monitoring systems for nitrate content in groundwater, and the mini-laboratory that has been put into operation. Likewise, the agronomic probes and piezometers deployed by the Directorate General for Water of the Region of Murcia (CARM), implemented by the company WHIDOC and managed by the CRCC (Regional Consortium of the Campo de Cartagena Irrigation Community), were showcased. The final stop of the study visit focused on the Mar Menor coastal piezometer network, with explanations provided by the Directorate General for the Mar Menor and IMIDA (the Valencian Institute for Agricultural and Food Research and Development), and particular attention paid to observations of groundwater discharge following the DANA storm “Alice.” The discussions held during the three-day workshop highlighted the scientific challenges and national and regional initiatives related to monitoring and protecting groundwater quality. The importance of ongoing scientific and technical cooperation between researchers and local stakeholders, based on reliable data for the sustainable management of water resources in anticipated scenarios of increasing scarcity, was also emphasized.
