Selecting a Time-Series Model to Predict Drinking Water Extraction in a Semi-Arid Region in Chihuahua, Mexico

As the effects of global climate change intensify, it is increasingly important to implement more effective water management practices, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions such as Meoqui, Chihuahua, situated in the arid northern center of Mexico. The objective of this study was to identify the optimal time-series model for analyzing the pattern of water extraction volumes and predicting a one-year forecast. It was hypothesized that the volume of water extracted over time could be explained by a statistical time-series model, with the objective of predicting future trends. To achieve this objective, three time-series models were evaluated. To assess the pattern of groundwater extraction, three time-series models were employed: the seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average (SARIMA), Prophet, and Prophet with extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost). The mean extraction volume for the entire period was 50,935 ± 47,540 m3, with a total of 67,233,578 m3 extracted from all wells. The greatest volume of water extracted has historically been from urban wells, with an average extraction of 55,720 ± 48,865 m3 and a total of 63,520,284 m3. The mean extraction volume for raw water wells was determined to be 20,629 ± 19,767 m3, with a total extraction volume of 3,713,294 m3. The SARIMA(1,1,1)(1,0,0)12 model was identified as the optimal time-series model for general extraction, while a “white noise” model, an ARIMA(0,1,0) for raw water, and an SARIMA(2,1,1)(2,0,0)12 model were identified as optimal for urban wells. These findings serve to reinforce the efficacy of the SARIMA model in forecasting and provide a basis for water resource managers in the region to develop policies that promote sustainable water management.