Apart from general project management (cost/deadline/quality tracking, contact with the European Commission, submittal of deliverables and reports), the aim of WP0 is to provide a strong link between the different WP and to anticipate any difficulty in one of the WP that could jeopardise the project. WP0 also includes the tasks of general dissemination and intellectual rights property.

The aim of  WP1 is to produce a complete review of the water management in the influence zone of the phosphate mines in the main Mediterranean producing countries (Morocco, Tunisia, Jordan, Egypt). This first phase of the project will implicate the authorities in charge of water management at local and regional scale (Stakeholders) in order to guarantee that the project meets the strategic needs of the MPCs. This phase of analysis of the social, economic and environmental system will entail a complete documentary study. Additional data will be supplemented as required by surveys and consultations. The analysis of the current situation will reveal all the dimensions of the problem (particularly the socioeconomic constraints and the regulatory framework) and analyse all the examples of conflicts or couplings between the mining sector and other economic sectors (tourism, agriculture, other industrial sectors including drinking and waste water treatment). This analysis could be broadened to other mining sectors besides phosphate, and also to other geographic areas in similar climatic contexts (e.g. Australia). This status review will help to identify and rank all the factors which have a quantitative and qualitative aspect on the integrated management of water in a context of shortage. It will also help to position the three study sites selected in the rest of the project with respect to the general situation. 
WP1 must also address possible developments having some impact on water management. These developments can concern the emergence of new technologies (e.g. mining and agricultural sectors), as well as the socioeconomic framework (population growth, rapid urbanisation, industrialisation, etc), and changes in the fiscal and regulatory framework. Special attention will be paid to the articulations with the European framework directive on water. A number of development hypotheses will be proposed for the main factors. The combination of these hypotheses will lead to a set of contrasted water management scenarios. The development scenarios selected as the most likely for the three pilot sites will be simulated in WP7 using the DSS.

The local political economies and institutional circumstances will be reviewed, as the proposal should have an important potential for policy-making and regulation (link with WP7). This review should be led for each of the Mediterranean countries concerned with phosphate mining (at least Morocco, Tunisia and Jordan), in order to know both the common points and the specificities of each country.
This review will have the objective to assess the policy framework for the technical innovations that will be proposed to reduce the pressure on water resources (e.g. use of municipal waste water in phosphate process, use of phosphate process water in agriculture), on the two points of view of:

•  institutional and regular context: Do laws still exist that have to be applied (e.g. for the quality of water required depending on the forecasted use) ? Does the policy context encourage to develop and apply these solutions (e.g. communication, financial aids, etc.)

•  socio-policy context: will the technical innovations be accepted by the different sectors concerned (e.g. reticence of farmers to use waste waters for irrigation) ? Can we identify the reasons of a potential reticence or even refusals (e.g. ideology, dreads about water quality, etc.) ? Can we propose solutions for the technical innovations to be better accepted ?

This review will be conducted in each of the three country by one of the local partners, in order for them to better understand the local context and background. This could be led through:

• literature review: general in the Mediterranean countries, and in the three countries,
• review of the institutional contexts: agriculture, drink water sector, mining, etc.

The aim of WP2 is to analyse the mining practices in terms of water management (water consumption, type of supply sources, water recycling rates, modification of water quality). This analysis will focus on the three main compartments, mainly the extraction site (underground mine or open pit), the beneficiation plant which produces the phosphate concentrate, and the slime (fine clayey residues) ponds which represent the chief release. Close support of the mining companies (CPG, OCP) will be provided.
For the beneficiation plant, the study will include the compilation of the water balance (analysis of the water flow, determination of consumptions, impact on water quality) and the construction of a model describing its function. The model will rely on the process analysis software USIM-PAC®. Special attention will be paid to the solid/liquid separation circuit (settlers, flocculation circuit) which ensures a first recycling of the water in the beneficiation plant and hence serves to significantly reduce water consumption. This part of the study will also describe the water supply source, both primary resources (surface and/or ground waters) and secondary resources (retreatment of municipal waste water, for example). This second point will be the subject of specific laboratory studies concerning the type of treatment to be applied to obtain a water quality compatible with the specifications of the beneficiation plant.
Besides the quantitative analysis of the treatment circuit, the study will include a qualitative analysis of the mine waters which conditions the possibilities of internal recycling as well as its use in other sectors, particularly farm irrigation (WP3). In fact, the undesirable elements that are potentially present in the ore (fluorine, cadmium, radionuclides) or the reagents used during the treatment, can deteriorate the quality of the water and limit the possibilities of upgrading in the agricultural sector. This part of the study will involve a strong link with WP3 (Agri). In case the pollutants represent a risk for agricultural use, an assessment of mine water treatment will be launched. This work will be carried out in close collaboration with WP3.
The slime management mode will represent the third aspect of this study as the main streams of process water are directly associated with these tailings. After a first step of thickening in a settler, the pre-thickened slimes are transferred to basins where they continue to thicken by settling with some possibility of recycling the supernatant water. By virtue of their mineralogical composition (clay minerals and fine phosphate particles) and their residual water content, the slimes offer a potential of agronomic utilisation (production of agricultural soils, revegetalization of the mine) which will be examined in WP3 Agri. WP2 Mine will focus on the analysis of the slime management mode and the compilation of the water balance. Apart from the analysis of the functioning of the tailing ponds (residual moisture profiles, monitoring of a piezometric device), this phase will involve laboratory work on the solid/liquid separation properties of the slimes which condition the potential recycling of the water and their consolidation (optimised design of slimes impoundment). The aim of these tests will be in particular to determine the laws of behaviour describing the sedimentation and consolidation of the slimes in order to construct basic modules describing the functioning of the tailing ponds. This phase will also include flocculation tests, a technique offering high optimisation potential in terms of water recycling.

The objective of WP3 will be to analyse the conditions in the three studied areas concerning the agricultural conditions and the practices related to the water management. 
For this reason a data collection will be carried out concerning the soil conditions of the area, the crop pattern, the irrigation systems used, the water needs for the crops, the water (quantity and quality) for the agricultural sector. The investigations on water quality and the presence of potential pollutants will be carried out in close link with WP2 (Mine). In this work package, we will also study the impact of the mine activities in the agriculture of the area. This analysis will also rely on remote sensing images of agricultural land use. All these data will be introduced in the GIS database created in WP4.
Experiments will be carried out in order to evaluate the slimes and the phosphate mine water for agricultural use. These experiments will take place in representative areas and with the main cultivated crops and the impact of the above-mentioned parameters (slimes and mine water) on the physical and chemical soil conditions, as well as on the crop production. A specific attention will be paid on the movement of principal pollutants (fluor, cadmium and radionucleides) in the soil and their uptake by the crops. These on site experiments will be carried out in three phases:

• Site preparation: collection of mine and process water, irrigation system, monitoring system,…

• Planting: the intended plants to be used are Alfalfa, Barley, Sugar beat, Egg plant, Atriplex, Acacia

• Water and soil monitoring: sampling of water for physico-chemical analysis, heavy metals transfer,…

• Plants yield: control of plants growth, calculation of water for use in irrigation efficiency,…

At laboratory scale, column experiments of representative soil samples will be performed to evaluate the potential transfer of water mine pollutants throughout the soil matrix. 
A well known hydrodynamic model (SWAP) will be applied in order to simulate the transport of solutes and water in the soil (field scale). The model will be calibrated for the main soil types of the two studied areas.

The aim of WP4 is to investigate the regional hydrogeological context of the three mines selected, in order to identify the main compartments of the water cycle and describe its operation.
The methodology proposed for this study relies first on field observations and the interpretation of experimental data (available or to be acquired), followed by a numerical model using a finite differences code. Actually, it is assumed that the functioning of a basin can be derived from a combined technology linking vegetation mapping, GIS and remote sensing and groundwater system modelling. 
First, necessary data will be collected, such as topography, soil type mapping, remote sensed images of land use, and hydrogeological characteristics of ground layers. Then, the WetSpass model will be used to estimate spatially distributed runoff, evapotranspiration, and recharge in function of land cover, soil type and topography. WetSpass is a raster semi-physically based distributed model, integrated with GIS (Arc/Info or ArcView), in which the groundwater recharge is estimated from a seasonal water balance. Finally, a hydrogeological modelling will be performed, based on the well-known USGS modular three-dimensional finite-difference groundwater model MODFLOW, slightly modified to account for recharge and discharge areas. This model has been selected because it is well documented, public domain, and has been applied and tested worldwide.
The recharge areas associated with each discharge area can be determined with the three-dimensional tracking code MODPATH. 
All the data collected in WP2,3 and 4 will be stored in a GIS database which will include land use, pedology, cropping patterns, agricultural practices, irrigation systems, the occurrence and extend of groundwater systems, linking recharge and discharge areas with flow lines and estimated transfer timescales. This information will contribute significantly to the understanding of the hydrogeological functioning of the area.
Once validated, the hydrogeological model will be used to identify the main components of the hydrosystem, the flows and the predominant transfer processes. The results thus obtained will serve as a basis to describe the unit hydrological and hydrogeological modules. This task of description of modules and mathematical formalisation of the laws governing their evolution will be carried out in close co-operation with WP6.

Although the study will focus on the links between the mining and agricultural sectors, it will be crucial to clearly integrate the regional socio-economic context and take account of all the components of water management. WP5 aims to analyse the importance of the local socio-economic context with respect to the phosphate industry and agriculture sector within the framework of water management. The socio-economic context will be analysed with the close support of the stakeholders.
Four levels of interaction between the local context will be examined: 

1) the industry as a water consumer;
2) the industry as a supplier of water in case the releases are treated;
3) or a polluter in the opposite case;
4) in terms of sharing of resources not exempt from conflicts.

 It therefore involves:

1) identifying the social, political and economic components of the local context;
2) evaluating the importance of the local socio-economic context and its developments;
3) positioning them with respect to the mining and agriculture sectors;
4) identifying, measuring and appreciating the relations it maintains with the latter in terms of water management. 

The results to be supplied are:

• An analysis of the local socio-economic system of the three pilot sites.
• The potential development scenarios of the local socio-economic system and their potential impact on water management and use until 2025.
• An identification of the main stakeholders for the three studied areas

The aim of WP6 “Model” is to integrate the multidisciplinary knowledge acquired on the influence zone of the three studied phosphate mines to propose a holistic model of the water transfers on the sites accounting for the interactions between mining and agricultural activities. A numerical version of this conceptual model proposed for the Moroccan study site will also be developed to permit the simulation of different water management scenarios (WP7). 
The methodology is based on an analysis of the three socio-hydrosystems investigated in order to break them down into subsystems, themselves composed of several “objects” or elementary modules. The transfers between the subsystems or between the elementary modules making up a subsystem are also described, whether for flow, mass flowrate or information exchange. This work will rely on specific studies developed in WP2 to 5.
After having defined the space/time scales of the work, it will first be necessary to identify the mechanisms to be taken into account for the breakdown into hydrological subsystems (HRU, Hydrologic Response Unit). These may be of different types (e.g. river, natural zone, anthropized zone), and will themselves be composed of different elementary modules structured into superimposed layers (from the surface to the groundwater table): resource management modules associated with human activity (including mining processes and agricultural activity), transfer modules (including soil and unsaturated zone) and reservoir modules (aquifers). Once all the objects of the system are defined and described, a conceptual scheme of water management in the influence zone of the mine can be drawn up for each case study. It will integrate the knowledge acquired in WP2 to WP5. This scheme will also be presented to all the partners of the project and the stakeholders for approval, because it is intended to supply a common and shared view of the problematics of water management in the study zone.
Based on the conceptual model constructed, and on the mathematical formalisation of the unit models supplied by WP2 to WP5, a holistic numerical model will be developed for the K site. Object or agent oriented technologies will be privileged.
After construction (library of models), the unit modules will be validated (simulation of theoretical cases, comparison of numerical results with experimental data from WP2 to 5, analytical solutions or expert opinion) and integrated to provide the numerical tools serving to simulate the integrated management of water resources on each of the study sites.

The concluding workpackage, WP7 represents the El'Maa project’s ultimate goal. The aim of the workpackage will be to set up the Decision Support system (DSS) from the integrated model developed in WP6 for the K site, to “explore” the impact of various water management scenarios (technological innovations and incentive institutional framework), to rank them and to formulate proposals which will be further translated into action plans. With its strategic objectives, this workpackage will associate all the partners of El'Maa project.
The integrated models developed in WP6 will supply raw results and cannot be used as a DSS. The development of a customised numeric tool (DSS) will be necessary i) to define and rank the most pertinent criteria with respect to the various viewpoints (mine, agriculture, socio-economy), ii) to define the most appropriate form of restitution of the results, iii) to develop a friendly graphical user interface (GUI) of the integrated model. 
The second stage will consist in the selection of the water management scenarios to be tested in close collaboration with the stakeholders panel. The scenarios proposed in WP1 will be refined by integrating all the information collected in WP 2 to 5. 
The DSS will then be applied to simulate the impacts of the various scenarios. After presentation and analysis of the results, the partners will formulate and rank the actions to be recommended and further developed (action plan). These actions will consist of the most promising technological routes but also in recommendations for an institutional framework that is an incentive and encouragement to the improvement of water availability, to its economy and sharing (comprehensive water policy).
The dissemination and communication of the results of WP7 (DSS, conclusions and recommendations) is one of the major objectives of the El'Maa project. WP7 will have to identify with the support of the stakeholders the most appropriate way of dissemination to ensure an effective dissemination and appropriation of the results to the Mediterranean phosphate industry but also to the regional/national authorities faced with the management of scarce water resources.