Repository logo
 
Loading...
Project Logo
Research Project

Demonstrating Managed Aquifer Recharge as a Solution to Water Scarcity and Drought

Funder

Organizational Unit

Authors

Publications

Climatic and geologic controls on the piezometry of the Querença-Silves karst aquifer, Algarve (Portugal)
Publication . Neves, Maria; Costa, Luis; Monteiro, José Paulo
Karst aquifers in semi-arid regions, like Queren double dagger a-Silves (Portugal), are particularly vulnerable to climate variability. For the first time in this region, the temporal structure of a groundwater-level time series (1985-2010) was explored using the continuous wavelet transform. The investigation focused on a set of four piezometers, two at each side of the S. Marcos-Quarteira fault, to demonstrate how each of the two sectors of the aquifer respond to climate-induced patterns. Singular spectral analysis applied to an extended set of piezometers enabled identification of several quasi-periodic modes of variability, with periods of 6.5, 4.3, 3.2 and 2.6 years, which can be explained by low-frequency climate patterns. The geologic forcing accounts for similar to 15 % of the differential variability between the eastern and western sectors of the aquifer. The western sector displays spatially homogenous piezometric variations, large memory effects and low-pass filtering characteristics, which are consistent with relatively large and uniform values of water storage capacity and transmissivity properties. In this sector, the 6.5-year mode of variability accounts for similar to 70 % of the total variance of the groundwater levels. The eastern sector shows larger spatial and temporal heterogeneity, is more reactive to short-term variations, and is less influenced by the low-frequency components related to climate patterns.
Interpretation of an injection test in a large diameter well in south Portugal and contribution to the understanding of the local hydrogeology
Publication . Costa, Luís R. D.; Monteiro, José Paulo; Oliveira, Manuel M.; Ferreira, João Paulo Lobo; Leitão, Teresa E.; Carvalho, Tiago; Carvalho, José Martins de; Agostinho, Rui
This paper refers to the interpretation of an injection test in a traditional large diameter well in Querença-Silves aquifer, south Portugal, under the scope of the project FP7-ENV-2013-WATER-INNO-DEMO MARSOL. Hydraulic parameter estimates were found within a high level of uncertainty regarding aquifer and well configuration. Given the injection test results together with the knowledge acquired on the field and from previous well logs and pumping tests on this aquifer section, it seems plausible to assume that the water injected in the well is locally flowing to an opposite direction to the regional aquifer flow. This forcing could possibly be caused by the existence of a local confinement or aquitard separating the injection well from the regional aquifer, or simply due to local scale heterogeneities and fracturation patterns.
Gestão de recarga induzida de aquíferos. Exemplos do projeto Marsol no Algarve
Publication . Leitão, Teresa E.; Ferreira, J. P. Lobo; Carvalho, Tiago; Monteiro, José Paulo; Oliveira, Manuel M.; Agostinho, Rui; Costa, Luís R. D.; Martins, Tiago; Henriques, Maria José
A utilização de técnicas de MAR (managed aquifer recharge, em nomenclatura inglesa ou gestão de recarga induzida de aquíferos) visa armazenar água em aquíferos durante períodos de excedentes podendo ajudar a resolver posteriores desafios de escassez de água e, assim, melhor gerir a variabilidade temporal da disponibilidade de água. Além disso, a qualidade da água pode ser melhorada através da sua circulação pelo meio poroso até ao aquífero, como resultado de processos químicos e biológicos, para além da própria diluição. Nesse contexto, a recarga induzida de aquíferos pode ser um importante contributo para resolver a crise de água da Europa, ligando o uso de excedentes hídricos com a reutilização de água e a gestão de recursos hídricos. Neste artigo apresenta-se uma síntese dos ensaios de demonstração sobre MAR realizados nos aquíferos da Campina de Faro (PT1) e Querença-Silves (PT2), no Algarve, pelo Laboratório Nacional de Engenharia Civil (LNEC), pela Terra, Ambiente e Recursos Hídricos (TARH), e pela Universidade do Algarve (UAlg), parceiros do projeto MARSol "Gestão de recarga induzida de aquíferos como uma solução para a escassez de água e secas", do 7.º Programa-Quadro da União Europeia. As fontes de água alternativas exploradas no âmbito do MARSol são excedentes hídricos superficiais gerados em eventos extremos durante as estações chuvosas e efluentes de águas residuais com tratamento secundário. Ambos estão a ser estudados no sentido de avaliar os volumes disponíveis e sua importância no contexto do balanço hídrico regional e da sua qualidade, o primeiro para a Campina de Faro e o segundo para o Querença-Silves. A melhoria da qualidade da água é o objetivo principal em ambos os aquíferos, no primeiro através da recarga por bacias, furos e noras e, no segundo caso, melhorando a qualidade das águas residuais por processos de atenuação e de filtração naturais de tratamento aquífero do solo (SAT).
Numerical modelling assessment of climate-change impacts and mitigation measures on the Querença-Silves coastal aquifer (Algarve, Portugal)
Publication . Hugman, Rui; Stigter, Tibor; Costa, Luis; Monteiro, José Paulo
Predicted changes in climate will lead to seawater intrusion in the Querença-Silves (QS) coastal aquifer (south Portugal) during the coming century if the current waterresource-management strategy is maintained. As for much of the Mediterranean, average rainfall is predicted to decrease along with increasing seasonal and inter-annual variability and there is a need to understand how these changes will affect the sustainable use of groundwater resources. A densitycoupled flow and transport model of the QS was used to simulate an ensemble of climate, water-use and adaptation scenarios from 2010 to 2099 taking into account intra- and interannual variability in recharge and groundwater use. By considering several climate models, bias correction and recharge calculation methods, a degree of uncertainty was included. Changes in rainfall regimes will have an immediate effect on groundwater discharge; however, the effect on saltwater intrusion is attenuated by the freshwater–saltwater interfaces’ comparatively slow rate of movement. Comparing the effects of adaptation measures demonstrates that the extent of intrusion in the QS is controlled by the long-term water budget, as the effectiveness of both demand and supply oriented measures is proportional to the change in water budget, and that to maintain the current position, average groundwater discharge should be in the order of 50 × 106 m3 yr−1.
New test of the gabardine infiltration basin for mar in rio seco (Campina de Faro aquifer system, Algarve)
Publication . Oliveira, Manuel M.; Ferreira, João Paulo Lobo; Leitão, Teresa E.; Costa, Luís R. D.; Carvalho, Tiago; Agostinho, Rui; Monteiro, José Paulo

Organizational Units

Description

Keywords

Contributors

Funders

Funding agency

European Commission

Funding programme

FP7

Funding Award Number

619120

ID