133% of groundwater resources, or 3 billion 203 million m2, were exploited in 2023, according to agronomist Anis Ben Rayana, who specified that 800 million m2 of this water were exploited anarchically and indiscriminately.
He told Express FM that 86% of groundwater was allocated to the agricultural sector in 2023, of which 61% were authorized and 25% exploited anarchically, according to figures from the General Directorate of Water Resources.
He added that 11.8% of groundwater was used for drinking water, 1.8% for industry and 0.04% for tourism in 2023.
Ben Rayana spoke about the water resources map project in Tunisia, which includes 129 water systems divided into seven regions, noting that this map shows that 2 billion and 412 million cubic meters of groundwater resources in Tunisia can be exploited annually.
He noted that groundwater in Tunisia is highly exploited, whether renewable or non-renewable, which calls for rational use and conservation.
