Groundwater recharge estimate at Alto Rio Grande – MG watershed

Springs are outcrops of aquifers surface, and the water cycle in this environment pass through the recharge, generally defined as the amount of water added to the aquifer, which may occur locally from rainwater infiltration. This study uses the Water Table Fluctuation (WTF) method to estimate the di...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Pereira, Donizete dos R., Silva, Lucas A. da, Silva, Antônio M. da, Coelho, Gilberto, Mello, Carlos R. de
Tipo de documento: artigo
Estado:Versão publicada
Data de publicação:2012
País:Brasil
Recursos:Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV)
Repositório:LOCUS Repositório Institucional da UFV
Idioma:inglês
OAI Identifier:oai:locus.ufv.br:123456789/26993
Acesso em linha:http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0100-69162012000600011
https://locus.ufv.br//handle/123456789/26993
Access Level:Acceso aberto
Palavra-chave:Groundwater recharge
Aquifer surface
Springs
Recarga hídrica
Aquífero superficial
Nascentes
Descrição
Resumo:Springs are outcrops of aquifers surface, and the water cycle in this environment pass through the recharge, generally defined as the amount of water added to the aquifer, which may occur locally from rainwater infiltration. This study uses the Water Table Fluctuation (WTF) method to estimate the direct recharge and a groundwater balance to estimate the deep recharge on unconfined aquifers. The WTF method employs data of the aquifer water levels and its specific yield to estimate the direct recharge. The groundwater balance considers the direct recharge estimated by the WTF method, as the water input in the system and outputs as the base flow and deep recharge. The recharge was estimated at four areas at the watershed of Alto Rio Grande city, Minas Gerais (MG) state, in Brazil. The direct recharge estimate was 121.11; 64.62; 83.99; 152.46 (mm/year) for the L1, L2, M1 and M2 areas. The effect of the presence of forest in the recharge area can prevail over slope of relief, allowing more direct recharge, even in sources with steeper relief. The runoff from the springs in the study period exceeded the direct recharge, indicating a situation in which the saturated zone feeds the vadose zone. The annual flow was above the direct recharge pointing a situation of over exploitation of the aquifer, a non sustainable situation. The specific yield of the aquifers could also have been underestimated.