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Volume 12
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10.3390/hydrology12110306
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Article

Groundwater Recharge Estimation Based on Environmental Isotopes, Chloride Mass Balance and SWAT Model in Arid Lands, Southwestern Saudi Arabia

by
Milad Masoud
1,2,*,
Maged El Osta
1,3,
Jalal Basahi
4,
Burhan Niyazi
4,
Nassir Al-Amri
1,4,
Michael Schneider
5,6,
Abdulaziz Alqarawy
4 and
Riyadh Halawani
1,7
1
Water Research Center, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80200, Jeddah 21598, Saudi Arabia
2
Hydrology Department, Desert Research Centre, Cairo 11753, Egypt
3
Earth Science Department, Faculty of Science, Damanhour University, Damanhour 22516, Egypt
4
Department of Water Resources, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80200, Jeddah 21598, Saudi Arabia
5
Institute of Geological Sciences, Freie Universitaet Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany
6
Depaetement of Applied Geoscience, German University of Technology in Oman (GUtech), PO Box 1816, Muscat PC 130, Oman
7
Department of Environment, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, P.O. Box 80200, Jeddah 21598, Saudi Arabia
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Hydrology 2025, 12(11), 306; https://doi.org/10.3390/hydrology12110306 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 21 October 2025 / Revised: 13 November 2025 / Accepted: 14 November 2025 / Published: 16 November 2025
Versions Notes

Abstract

Estimated groundwater recharge is considered the essential factor for groundwater management and sustainability, especially in arid lands such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Consequently, assessing groundwater recharge is a key process for forecasting groundwater accessibility to sustain safe withdrawal. So, this study focused on environmental isotopes, the chloride mass balance (CMB) method, and a SWAT model by integrating GIS with hydrological and hydrochemical techniques to detect the origin of coastal aquifer groundwater and to compute the recharging rate in the study area. This study is based on the results of chemical analysis of 78 groundwater samples and environmentally stable isotopes, including deuterium (2H) and oxygen-18O, in 29 representative samples. The results revealed that the origin of groundwater recharge comes through precipitation, where the ranges of δ18O and δ2H isotopes in the analyzed groundwater were from −1.10‰ to +1.03‰ and from −0.63‰ to 11.63‰, respectively. The CMB finding for estimating the average recharge is 3.57% of rainfall, which agrees with a previous study conducted in the wadi Qanunah basin (north of the study area), where the estimated average value of recharge was 4.25% of rainfall. Meanwhile, the estimated annual recharge using a SWAT model ranged between 1 mm and 16.5 mm/year at an average value of approximately 8.75 mm/year. The results obtained by the two techniques are different due to some reasons such as the presence of additional chloride sources, as well as evaporation. Outputs of this study will be valuable for the local community, officials, and decision-makers who are concerned with groundwater resources.
Keywords: water resources; groundwater recharge; chloride mass balance; SWAT; isotopes; arid lands water resources; groundwater recharge; chloride mass balance; SWAT; isotopes; arid lands

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MDPI and ACS Style

Masoud, M.; El Osta, M.; Basahi, J.; Niyazi, B.; Al-Amri, N.; Schneider, M.; Alqarawy, A.; Halawani, R. Groundwater Recharge Estimation Based on Environmental Isotopes, Chloride Mass Balance and SWAT Model in Arid Lands, Southwestern Saudi Arabia. Hydrology 2025, 12, 306. https://doi.org/10.3390/hydrology12110306

AMA Style

Masoud M, El Osta M, Basahi J, Niyazi B, Al-Amri N, Schneider M, Alqarawy A, Halawani R. Groundwater Recharge Estimation Based on Environmental Isotopes, Chloride Mass Balance and SWAT Model in Arid Lands, Southwestern Saudi Arabia. Hydrology. 2025; 12(11):306. https://doi.org/10.3390/hydrology12110306

Chicago/Turabian Style

Masoud, Milad, Maged El Osta, Jalal Basahi, Burhan Niyazi, Nassir Al-Amri, Michael Schneider, Abdulaziz Alqarawy, and Riyadh Halawani. 2025. "Groundwater Recharge Estimation Based on Environmental Isotopes, Chloride Mass Balance and SWAT Model in Arid Lands, Southwestern Saudi Arabia" Hydrology 12, no. 11: 306. https://doi.org/10.3390/hydrology12110306

APA Style

Masoud, M., El Osta, M., Basahi, J., Niyazi, B., Al-Amri, N., Schneider, M., Alqarawy, A., & Halawani, R. (2025). Groundwater Recharge Estimation Based on Environmental Isotopes, Chloride Mass Balance and SWAT Model in Arid Lands, Southwestern Saudi Arabia. Hydrology, 12(11), 306. https://doi.org/10.3390/hydrology12110306

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