Disponibilidad sostenible de agua subterránea a partir del control de las descargas de un acuífero

Abstract

Traditionally the total recharge, as the sum of net horizontal and vertical flow, to an aquifer is considered as sustainable yield. Frans R. P. Kalf and Donald R. Woolley (2005) have mentioned it is necessary to accept the reality of unsustainable groundwater systems and several authors, including John Bredehoeft (2002), have emphasized that it is not possible to control recharge. It can be assessed by estimating the groundwater discharges from the aquifer and changes in storage for defined periods. Then groundwater draft can be determined as the total discharge plus the change in storage minus the volumes required in neighbor areas such as wetlands, estuaries, lagoons or bays. Therefore the allowed storage change is defined explicitly as a function of selected periods. The objective of this paper is to present a method for pumping assessment based on control variables. The application was made in two study cases at Northwestern Mexico, Yaqui and Mayo aquifers, where the assessment of availability by the proposed method renders some results comparable with traditional method and acceptable for practical purposes. The groundwater systems are unsustainable in a frame conscious about the future.