Environ Earth Sci (2010) 60:861–871
DOI 10.1007/s12665-009-0223-1
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Use of chloride mass balance and tritium data for estimation
of groundwater recharge and renewal rate in an unconfined
aquifer from North Africa: a case study from Tunisia
Lassaad Dassi
Received: 15 May 2008 / Accepted: 23 June 2009 / Published online: 7 July 2009
Ó Springer-Verlag 2009
Abstract The scarcity of surface water resources in arid
and semi-arid regions from North African countries con-
tributes to the considerable increase of groundwater
exploitation, which leads to the development of hydrogeo-
logical studies. However, due to the lack of hydrodynamic
data in these regions, these studies focus more and more on
the geochemical and environmental isotope techniques to
insure a better understanding of the hydrodynamic func-
tioning of subsurface systems. In this study, which interests
an important unconfined aquifer in central Tunisia, tritium
data and chloride mass balance (CMB) method were
applied in order to (1) understand the mode of recharge of
this aquifer and (2) obtain a reliable estimation of its
recharge amount as well as (3) estimate its annual renewal
rate. It has been demonstrated that the shallow groundwa-
ters are classified into two groups according to their tritium
contents. The first group includes wells located mainly
downstream and highlights the significant role of the post-
nuclear lineal recharge through Wadis courses. The second
group encloses wells located practically overall the rest of
the basin and refers to relatively modern waters originated
from areal recharge of present-day rainfall. Based on the
CMB method, the recharge to this unconfined aquifer is
estimated to 31.7 mm year-1, which corresponds to 10.5%
of the total rainfall. The annual renewal rate of groundwa-
ter, evaluated based on the tritium contents, is up to 16%.
Keywords Unconfined aquifer
Groundwater
recharge
Renewal rate
Tritium
Chloride mass
balance
Northern Africa
Central Tunisia
L. Dassi (&)
Department of Earth Sciences,
Faculty of Sciences of Gabès, 6072 Gabès, Tunisia
e-mail: lassaad@geologist.com
Introduction
In arid and semi-arid regions from North African countries,
strategic plans depend entirely on groundwater resources as
rainfall is characterized by temporal and spatial variations
that are random and sporadic. Consequently, the under-
standing of the mode of recharge, the estimation of its
amount and the evaluation of the annual renewal rate of
groundwater are essential for improving water resources
management. However, due to the spatial and temporal
variability of rainfall, the estimation of the recharge is very
difficult, especially when based only on conventional
methods or empirical approaches such as water budget,
groundwater balance or Darcy’s law. These methods often
require analysis of large volume of hydrometeorologic data
collected over considerable time span, which is generally
inadequate or unreliable in many regions (Eagelson 1979;
Lerner et al. 1990; Wood and Sanford 1995; Wood and
Imes 1995; Wood 1999; Flint et al. 2002; Edmunds et al.
2002). Thus, geochemical techniques such as chloride mass
balance (CMB) and isotopic tracing methods are particu-
larly used to estimate the recharge amount or to provide
other essential complementary information related to the
groundwater aquifer systems.
The investigated unconfined aquifer of the Sbeı̈tla basin,
central Tunisia (Fig. 1), provides drinking and irrigation
waters for a major part of the Sfax region that counts more
than 1 million inhabitants. The total extraction from this
important aquifer in 2000 was estimated to 21 million m3
(Dassi et al. 2004). During the last decades, this aquifer
undergoes serious signs of overexploitation, i.e. the gen-
eralized decline of the groundwater potentiometric surface
and the degradation of the water quality likely due to the
upward leakage of brackish waters from the underlying
aquifer.
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862 Environ Earth Sci (2010) 60:861–871

Fig. 1 Simplified geologic map

of the Sbeı̈tla basin

Within this framework, the spatial and temporal varia-
tions of tritium input in the aquifer were used to determine
its mode of recharge and its annual groundwater renewal
rate. In addition, the amount of recharge of this aquifer was
estimated using the CMB method, which is based on the
assumption that the Cl- concentrations in rainfall and
groundwater are in a steady-state balance. That is, input is
equal to output without Cl- storage change during a spe-
cific time period, often taken as 1 year (Subyani and Şen
2006).
over the Northern Africa and (2) the Mediterranean cool air
masses that derive from the north. Quantitatively, Medi-
terranean precipitation represents 66% of the total rain
amount. As a result, the main part of the regional aquifer
recharge is supplied by the Mediterranean events.
The study area, which is located in central Tunisia,
covers an area of 600 km2 and lies between the latitudes
35.00°–35.30°N and the longitudes 8.20°–9.10°E (Fig. 1).
It corresponds to a synclinal structure limited in the north
by the Tioucha and Douleb Mountains, in the east by the
Mrhila Mountain and the Sbeı̈tla fault, in the south by the

Location and climate

From a geomorphologic point of view, Tunisia is charac-

terized by an absence of high mountains and a relatively
limited geographic extension, allowing the integration of
Saharan air streams into the atmospheric circulation (Celle-
Jeanton et al. 2001a). However, due to its position in the
western Mediterranean, it represents a climatic transition
zone open to Atlantic and Mediterranean influences
(Rindsberger et al. 1990). Indeed, regional hydrometeoro-
logical studies (Bousnina 1997; Celle 2000; Celle-Jeanton
et al. 2001b) mention the existence of two major trajecto-
ries for dominant air masses (Fig. 2). These are (1) the
North Atlantic warm air masses that circulate from the west Fig. 2 Main air masses trajectories towards Tunisia

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Environ Earth Sci (2010) 60:861–871
Rheradok Mountain and in the west by Semmama Moun-
tain. It is characterized by a semi-arid climate with a rainy
season extending from September to April and a dry season
extending from May to August (Bousnina 1997). The mean
annual precipitation, temperature and potential evapo-
transpiration are 300 mm, 21°C and 1,200 mm, respec-
tively (Dassi 2004).
The drainage network in the study area is not very
dense. It consists only three non-perennial Wadis. The
Sbeı̈tla and Melah Wadis collect surface runoff from the
surrounding mountains of Semmama–Douleb and Rhera-
dok, respectively. However, the Chérayaa Wady is fed by
the groundwater that emerges from the confined aquifer
Fig. 3 Hydrostratigraphic
column of the study area
863
during the rainy seasons, rather than by surface runoff
waters.
Geology and hydrogeology
The geological formations in the study area are composed
of Cretaceous, Paleogene, Neogene and Quaternary series
(Fig. 1). As shown in the lithostratigraphic column
(Fig. 3), the Cretaceous series, constituted mainly of clay,
marl, limestone, marly limestone and sandstone marine
deposits, are found in the surrounding mountains of
Semmama, Douleb, Mrhila and Rheradok. These series
123
864
Fig. 4 Hydrogeological cross-
section of the Sbeı̈tla aquifer
system
belong to the Sidi Khralif, Melloussi, Mrhila, Sidi Aı̈ch,
Orbata, Zebbag, Alèg and Abiod Formations (Fig. 4)
(Burollet 1956; Ben Youssef 1980; M’Rabet 1981; Oueli
1984; Zghal 1985; Touir et al. 1987; Turki et al. 1988;
Yaı̂ch et al. 1990; Rigane 1991; Zghal 1994; Kadri et al.
1998; Zouaghi et al. 2008). The Paleogene series, made up
of continental conglomerates, sand and sandstone, outcrop
in the hills which limit the northern part of the basin. These
series, which correspond to the Fortuna Formation (Fig. 3)
(Yaı̂ch et al. 1990; Kadri et al. 1998), lay unconformably
on the Capanian-Maastrichtian limestone of the Abiod
Formation. The Neogene series, composed mainly of clay,
limestone, sand and sandstone continental deposits, are
found inside the basin as a filling of the synclinal structure
constituted by the Upper Cretaceous basement. These
series are represented by the Massiouta, Oued Hammam,
Aı̈n Ghrab, Mahmoud, Beglia, Saouaf and Segui Forma-
tions (Fig. 3) (Yaı̂ch 1984; Blondel 1991; Kadri et al.
1998; Rebhi 1998). The Quaternary deposits are consti-
tuted of thin terraces and red soils and lay unconformably
on the Neogene series, except in the Chérayaa uplift zone.
In this zone, where the Neogene formations outcrop, the
tectonic uplift is likely the result of three ancient normal
faults inverted later, during the Tertiary, with a young
displacement exceeding sometimes the older (Bismuth
et al. 1981; Chihi 1984; Kadri 1993; Zghal 1994).
Groundwater in the Sbeı̈tla synclinal basin is hosted in
three main reservoirs (Fig. 4), i.e. the Upper Cretaceous deep
aquifer, the Lower Miocene intermediate aquifer and the
Middle Miocene unconfined aquifer, which represents the
subject of this study. This shallow aquifer, constituted of
coarse to medium grained sandstone with some clay inter-
calations, has an average thickness of about 150 m and a
mean value of hydraulic conductivity of 3 9 10-4 m s-1. Its
transmissivity varies largely from 6 to 68 9 10-3 m2 s-1
(Koschel 1978), probably due to the large variation of its
thickness.
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Environ Earth Sci (2010) 60:861–871
The simulated potentiometric map (Horrich and Nacef
1996) of the shallow water-table shows a NW–SE
groundwater flow direction in the upstream part and in the
centre of the basin (Fig. 5). This direction is from the
pediment of the Semmama–Douleb Mountain towards the
Chérayaa uplift zone, where the unconfined aquifer is
completely eroded. In the downstream part of the basin,
there are two main flow directions: W–E and SW–NE.
These directions of flow converge, respectively, from the
Semmama–Douleb and Rhradok Mountains towards the
Sbeı̈tla fault zone.
Materials and methods
Rainfall water samples were collected by the bureau of
Water Resources of Sbeı̈tla during the rainy period of
2001, extending from September to April. Chloride con-
centrations in these samples were measured in the labo-
ratory of the GSF research centre of Munich. As indicated
by Seiler and Gat (2007), chloride concentrations in sin-
gle and consecutive rain events may differ significantly
according to (1) the origin and the trajectory of air
masses, (2) the storage of chloride in the atmosphere, (3)
the distance from the coast, (4) the regional condensation
altitude, above which interception deposition is favored
and (5) the velocity of rain-out. As a result, most pre-
cipitation starts with high and continues with low chloride
concentrations. Therefore, in order to avoid the variation
of chloride concentrations, the rainfall height-weighted
mean of chloride (Clwm) has been considered. These
weighted means were calculated according to the fol-
lowing formula (Table 1):
X X
Clwm ¼ Cli hi = hi ð1Þ
where Clwm is the rainfall height-weighted mean of chloride
concentration (mg l-1), Cli is the chloride concentration in
Environ Earth Sci (2010) 60:861–871
Fig. 5 Simulated
potentiometric map of the
unconfined aquifer water-table
a considered rainfall event (mg l-1), hi is the height of a
considered rainfall event (mm).
Groundwater from eight wells tapping the unconfined
aquifer were sampled and measured during June 2000 and
June 2001 for chloride concentration analysis (Fig. 6). The
selected boreholes are located far from the irrigation areas
to avoid the influence of return flow waters. Both chloride
values, of 2000 and 2001, were averaged to obtain Cl
concentration mean value of each observation well. The
mean values were used to calculate the average chloride
concentration of the unconfined aquifer groundwater (Clgw)
(Table 2).
Tritium contents, shown in Table 3, were measured on
groundwater samples collected from 1 spring and 21 wells
taping the unconfined aquifer (Fig. 6). The measurements
have been accomplished in the laboratory of the GSF
research centre of Munich using electrolytic enrichment
and liquid scintillation counting method (Thatcher et al.
1977). Tritium is expressed in Tritium Unit (TU), in which
one TU equals one tritium atom per 1018 hydrogen atoms.
865
Results and discussion
Tritium in groundwater
Tritium is a naturally occurring radioactive isotope of
hydrogen with a half-life of 12.3 years (Lucas and
Unterweger 2000). Most of the 3H that was present in the
atmosphere prior to thermonuclear testing in the 1950s and
1960s was the result of natural production by the bom-
bardment of nitrogen by neutrons in cosmic radiation in the
upper atmosphere (Solomon 2000). Tritium’s half-life
allows it to be used as a dating tool for relatively young
water, i.e. water recharged less than 50 years ago (Mann
et al. 1982). The natural background activity of 3H in
precipitation prior to 1952 was about 5 TU (Begemann
1959; Roether 1967). As a result of radioactive decay,
groundwater derived from precipitation that fell before the
onset of atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons in 1953
(pre-bomb) would have contained not more than 0.5 TU in
2000.
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Table 1 Height of rainfall events and their chloride concentrations gradual decrease during the next decades (Fig. 7) (GNIP
Sampling month Rainfall (mm) -1
Cl (mg l )
2001). The abundance of 3H in groundwaters from the study
area likely indicates that they are post-1950s in age or are
September 13 11.7 mixtures containing a significant fraction of post-1950s
October 30.8 8 water. However, the relatively wide range of variation in the
November 64 7 3
H concentrations (Table 3) in these groundwaters suggests
December 22.2 11.9 different sources of recharge waters and likely various
January 66.3 6 infiltration processes. Indeed, the spatial distribution of 3H
February 32 9 within the study area reveals that concentrations lesser than
March 23.2 10.5 6 TU are localized mainly up gradient and in the centre of
April 58 7.4 the basin, and in a restricted area in the pediment of the
Weighted mean 7.98 Rheradok Mountain, south eastern of the basin (Fig. 8).
These concentrations that match with those measured in the
precipitation during the last decade suggest significant
The 3H concentrations in the groundwater were inter- present-day infiltration of rainfall waters and relatively high
preted based on tritium data for precipitation between 1967 flow rates along the main NW–SE flow path. This infiltra-
and 1995 for the Tunisian GNIP stations of Tunis-Carthage tion likely indicates a linear recharge along the Wadis
(No. 6071500) and Sfax (No. 6075000), which show a courses and a local recharge in the foot hill zones. In con-
substantial increase after the onset of atmospheric nuclear trast, the 3H concentration of groundwater from the western
weapons testing, during the early 1960s, followed by a part of the basin and downstream is larger than 6 TU,

Fig. 6 Sampling map

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Environ Earth Sci (2010) 60:861–871 867

Table 2 Chloride concentrations in groundwater wells from nor is absorbed by the sediment particles, and it does
Well Cl (mg l ) -1 not participate in any chemical reaction. Schoeller (1941)
was the first who draws attention to chloride in the water
2000 2001 Mean value cycle for determining groundwater recharge. In the fol-
SF 25 21 23.6 22.3 lowing decades, various applications of the CMB method
SF 30 105 111 108 have been presented in different parts of the world
SF 14 80 61.6 70.8 (Eriksson 1952, 1976; Eriksson and Khunakasem 1969;
SP 277 95 113 104 Allison and Hughes 1978; Grismer et al. 2000; Edmunds
SP 9 55 29 42.2 et al. 2002; Harrington et al. 2002; Scanlon et al. 2002).
SP 143 110 106 108 However, it has been shown that the CMB method can
SP 235 62.2 35.8 49 yield regional rates of recharge under specific conditions
SP 138 83 86 84.5
and assumptions (Wood and Sanford 1995; Wood and Imes
Average 73.6
1995). On the other hand, Bazuhair and Wood (1996)
stated that the CMB method yields groundwater recharge
rates that are integrated spatially over the watershed over
tens of thousands of years.
Table 3 Tritium contents in groundwater and computed renewal The CMB method compares the total chloride deposi-
rates tion in precipitation with the chloride concentrations in
Well 3
H (TU) in groundwater Renewal rate (%) groundwater as measured in samples from tube wells.
Under natural condition, chloride in percolation water is
2000 2001
predominantly of atmospheric origin (Seiler and Gat 2007).
SF 25 8.3 7.8 Post-nuclear Only under special climate conditions (arid and semi-arid),
SF 30 1.4 Missing Undetermined an input comes also from residuals in soils. These residuals
SF 13 0.7 0.7 1.00 date from evaporation and have an origin either in atmo-
SF 14 6.5 6.5 Post-nuclear spheric water or in groundwater moving upward to the
SF 29 1.2 1.2 1.95 evaporative interface by capillary rise (Seiler and Gat
SP 277 8.2 6.5 Post-nuclear 2007). However, in our case of study, due to the relatively
SP 37 22.3 15.7 Post-nuclear thick unsaturated zone, groundwater rise to the evaporative
SP 9 8 10.1 Post-nuclear zone is insignificant and, therefore, the related amount of
SP 143 1.9 1.8 0.17 residual chloride in soil is negligible. Moreover, as the
SP 253 1.1 1.1 1.75 study area is located along way from any source of atmo-
SP 42 15.6 Missing Post-nuclear spheric pollution, the rain water is supposed to be the only
SP 235 1.1 1.2 4.63 source of chloride in groundwater. Thus, if it is assumed
SP 124 21.3 16.4 Post-nuclear that residual chloride in soil originated from the evapora-
SP 138 1.3 1.4 5.23 tion of atmospheric water is negligible, the conservation of
SP 8 9 Missing Post-nuclear mass leads to the following relation between rainfall and
SP 25 9 14.1 Post-nuclear recharge (Ting et al. 1998; Wood 1999):
SP 22 Missing 3.3 Undetermined P  Clwm ¼ R  Clgw ð2Þ
SP 174 1.8 1.9 7.08
SP 273 Missing 14.6 Post-nuclear
where P is the mean annual precipitation in the study area
SP 61 Missing 0.9 Undetermined
(mm), Clwm is the rainfall height-weighted mean of chlo-
SP 79 Missing 12.5 Post-nuclear
ride concentration (mg l-1), R is the annual recharge
amount (mm), Clgw is the average chloride concentration of
Chérayaa Spring 1.6 2 16.28
the unconfined aquifer groundwater (mg l-1).
Mean value 4.38
Taking into account that the mean annual precipitation
(P) is 300 mm, the volume-weighted mean of chloride
suggesting a post-nuclear spatial recharge over at last concentration in precipitation (Clp) is 7.87 mg l-1
40 years and quasi-stagnant flow system. (Table 1) and the average chloride concentration of
groundwater (Clgw) is 73.6 mg l-1 (Table 2), the recharge
Recharge rate rate calculated according to the mass conservation (Eq. 2)
is 31.71 mm year-1. This recharge rate, which represents
The chloride ion is used in groundwater recharge studies 10.5% of the total rainfall, agrees with the results
because of its conservative nature. The ion neither leaches obtained in similar studies in Wadi Yalamlam basin and

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868 Environ Earth Sci (2010) 60:861–871

Fig. 7 Tritium contents in

precipitation in Tunis-Carthage
and Sfax GNIP stations

Fig. 8 Spatial distribution of

tritium contents in shallow
groundwater

other adjacent basins in Saudi Arabia and other arid parts
of the world (Allison 1988; Wood and Sanford 1995;
Bazuhair and Wood 1996; Wood et al. 1997; Wood 1999;
Love et al. 2000; Subyani 1997; Subyani and Bayumi
2001; Edmunds et al. 2002; Subyani and Şen 2006;
Zagana et al. 2007).
Renewal rate
The Middle Miocene unconfined aquifer is characterized
by relatively homogenous porosity and outcrops over about
95% of the Sbeı̈tla basin. Consequently, it can be recharged
overall the basin with relatively similar rates. For this

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Environ Earth Sci (2010) 60:861–871
reason, a groundwater mixing model has been considered
to calculate the recharge rate in this study. This model,
applied by Leduc et al. (2000), assumes that a complete
mixing of groundwater issued from successive recharge
episodes occurs within the aquifer.
According to this model of perfect mixing, the tritium
content in the aquifer groundwater during the year i (3Hi) is
given by the following equation:
3
Hi ¼ ð1  Ri Þ3 Hi1 eln 2=T þ R3i Hpi ð3Þ
where 3Hi is the tritium content in the aquifer groundwater
during the year 2001 (Table 3), Ri is the renewal rate of the
aquifer during the year 2001, 3Hi-1 is the tritium content in
the aquifer groundwater during the year 2000 (Table 3),
3
Hpi is the tritium content in precipitation during the year
2001, T is the tritium half-life (12.3 years).
Equation 3 permits to calculate the renewal rate of
groundwater as following:
Ri ¼ ð3 Hi 3 Hi1 eln 2=T Þ=ð3 Hpi 3 Hi1 eln 2=T Þ ð4Þ
In the study area, no measurements of tritium in
precipitation have been done in the past. Thus, data
recorded in the Sfax GNIP station (Fig. 7) were used as this
station is nearest to the study area.
The eight measurements available in the unconfined
Middle Miocene aquifer have tritium values ranging
between 0.7 and 22 TU in 2001 and between 0.7 and
16.4 TU in 2002. Form these data only those characterized
by 3H contents inferior or equal to the natural background
(5 TU) have been considered. The highest values are
doubtful; they did not represent the present-day recharge
water but they likely result from post-nuclear recharge.
Considering that the tritium content in precipitation
during the year 2001 (3Hpi) is 4.51 TU, the computed
annual renewal rate of groundwater of the unconfined
aquifer varies between 0.2 and about 16.3%, with a mean
of about 4.4% (Table 3). This relatively large range is
probably due to the variability of the hydraulic conduc-
tivity and the importance of temporary drainage network
formed in topographic depressions.
Conclusion
Tritium concentrations in groundwater and CMB method
were used to determine the mode and the amount of
recharge of the Sbeı̈tla unconfined aquifer as well as its
annual groundwater renewal rate. It has been demonstrated,
based on the spatial distribution of the tritium contents, that
groundwaters in the study area are classified into two
groups. The first group includes wells located mainly
downstream, more or less in the vicinity of the Wadis
869
courses. It refers to waters influenced by post-nuclear
recharge in relation with the late 1960s and early 1970s
flooding. This group highlights the significant role of the
lineal recharge during the rainy periods already demon-
strated by the simulated potentiometric map. The second
group encloses wells located practically overall the rest of
the basin and refers to waters originated from relatively
modern rainfall of the last two decades. This group pro-
vides an indication of the important contribution of the
areal recharge.
Based on the CMB method, the value of the annual
recharge to this unconfined aquifer is estimated to
31.7 mm year-1, which corresponds to 10.5% of the
regional mean annual rainfall. This value agrees with that
obtained in similar studies in arid and semi-arid parts of the
world. The calculated renewal rate varies between 0.2 and
16.3%, probably due to the variability of the hydraulic
conductivity and the importance of temporary drainage
network formed in topographic depressions.
Acknowledgments The author would like to thank the German
Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) for their financial support to
carry out this work. The author would also like to express his
appreciation to Prof. Serigne Faye from the University of Anta Diop,
Senegal, who largely improved the quality of the manuscript by his
constructive critics and useful comments.
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