Hungarian innovation on groundwater at IAH 2025: MAR for drought-resilient water systems
At the International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH) World Congress 15-19 September 2025, Melbourne, Australia, Szilvia Simon (ELTE) presented ClimEx-PE–aligned research on nature-based Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) for Hungary’s Danube–Tisza Interfluve. Her talk, “Nature-based managed aquifer recharge solutions for effective water retention in the Danube–Tisza Interfluve, Hungary,” outlined how managed aquifer recharge can bank excess water and stabilize supplies during drought—directly supporting ClimEx-PE’s goals to co-develop climate-robust groundwater solutions.
Why it matters for ClimEx-PE
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Drought resilience: MAR increases subsurface storage to buffer multi-season water deficits across vulnerable sandy terrains of the Danube–Tisza region.
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Nature-based design: Solutions leverage landscape features and ecosystem services rather than hard infrastructure alone, reducing costs and environmental footprint.
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From regional to local scale: The work couples basin-scale flow-system understanding with site-specific design, siting, and monitoring—key for responsible upscaling.
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Decision support & co-creation: Results feed into ClimEx-PE’s integrative assessment and stakeholder co-design workflows for municipalities and utilities.
Looking ahead
Insights from this study will be integrated into ClimEx-PE demonstration and validation activities, informing evidence-based MAR options that enhance drinking-water security, ecosystem health, and climate adaptation across Central and Eastern Europe.