Development of Combined Ant Colony Optimization Algorithm and Numerical Simulation for Optimal Management of Coastal Aquifers

Groundwater aquifers are important and vital resources in coastal zones. Serious environmental problems often occur in coastal areas that are densely populated or have been industrialized. The common problem is the saltwater intrusion into the freshwater aquifer system, due to inappropriate exploitation and over-pumping of coastal aquifers. This causes more limitations for the meaningful operation policies. A proper and reliable picture of the groundwater system in the coastal aquifer and the saltwater intrusion phenomenon are required to keep away from the possible threats and to develop sufficient management strategies. This study, presented an efficient combined numerical simulationoptimization model for optimal management of a coastal aquifer, while controlling the saltwater intrusion process through controlled pumping. The proposed approach employs improved Elitist Continuous Ant Colony Optimization (ECACO) algorithm as an optimization tool in the model. In the numerical simulation approach, objective functions with extensive range of constraints for coastal aquifer management is considered. In this model, through some simple scheme, such as continuity equations in the porous media cells and existing hydraulic systems in the study area, more complex phenomenon representing real systems can be investigated. This model is verified using application examples available in the literature. The success and efficiency of the proposed ECACO algorithm in optimal management of actual coastal aquifers is shown.