Groundwater resources in the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region (northeast Italy) are an important natural resource in terms of quantity, quality and ease of supply. This optimal condition, however, allowed an irrational and uncontrolled exploitation that inevitably produced tangible consequences on the quantity and quality of the available water resources. Seen that in the Friuli Venezia Giulia Plain are present more than 50.000 wells, most of them flowing, a deep study has been realized in order to evaluate the environmental sustainability of the withdrawals. To define the groundwater resources, a 3dimensional reconstruction of the aquifer systems has been realized starting from more than 3.000 stratigraphies (Zini et al., 2011). A campaign of wells identifications started. This permitted to evaluate the amount and distribution of the existing wells and the values of the real discharge. Although, the situation on a global scale, can be considered as not yet alarming, even if there are increasingly frequent reports on water pollution and other indicators of the progressive depletion of groundwater reserves. Since ten years ago, there is a lowering in groundwater levels in the High Plain and a loss of pressure in Low Plain confined aquifers (Cucchi et al., 1999). These phenomena are accompanied by the gradual amplitude range reduction of Resurgence belt, resulting as decrease in the amount of available water to the naturalness of the lowlands. In light of this, it is easy to predict that, unless appropriate measures, the intense human pressure will cause the persistence, if not the increase, of the just described phenomena (Cucchi et al., 2008). On one side, the derived discharge rates in mountain basins are returned to the valley only after the intersection with the Resurgence belt producing a decline in the active recharge of the High Plain. On the other side, well withdrawals dissolve a significant amount of water resources and constitute the most important forced element for the groundwater flow.
RESURGENCE BELT DISCHARGE AS ENVIRONMENTAL INDIRECT INDICATOR.
ZINI, Luca;CALLIGARIS, CHIARA;TREU, FRANCESCO
2012-01-01
Abstract
Groundwater resources in the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region (northeast Italy) are an important natural resource in terms of quantity, quality and ease of supply. This optimal condition, however, allowed an irrational and uncontrolled exploitation that inevitably produced tangible consequences on the quantity and quality of the available water resources. Seen that in the Friuli Venezia Giulia Plain are present more than 50.000 wells, most of them flowing, a deep study has been realized in order to evaluate the environmental sustainability of the withdrawals. To define the groundwater resources, a 3dimensional reconstruction of the aquifer systems has been realized starting from more than 3.000 stratigraphies (Zini et al., 2011). A campaign of wells identifications started. This permitted to evaluate the amount and distribution of the existing wells and the values of the real discharge. Although, the situation on a global scale, can be considered as not yet alarming, even if there are increasingly frequent reports on water pollution and other indicators of the progressive depletion of groundwater reserves. Since ten years ago, there is a lowering in groundwater levels in the High Plain and a loss of pressure in Low Plain confined aquifers (Cucchi et al., 1999). These phenomena are accompanied by the gradual amplitude range reduction of Resurgence belt, resulting as decrease in the amount of available water to the naturalness of the lowlands. In light of this, it is easy to predict that, unless appropriate measures, the intense human pressure will cause the persistence, if not the increase, of the just described phenomena (Cucchi et al., 2008). On one side, the derived discharge rates in mountain basins are returned to the valley only after the intersection with the Resurgence belt producing a decline in the active recharge of the High Plain. On the other side, well withdrawals dissolve a significant amount of water resources and constitute the most important forced element for the groundwater flow.Pubblicazioni consigliate
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