Efectos de la explotación intensiva de aguas subterráneas en la ciudad de murcia (España) en épocas de sequíaorientaciones para una explotación sostenible

  1. García Aróstegui, José Luis
  2. Lambán, L.J.
  3. Hornero Díaz, J. E.
  4. Aragón Rueda, Ramón
  5. Fernández-Grillo, A. I.
Journal:
Boletín geológico y minero

ISSN: 0366-0176

Year of publication: 2006

Volume: 117

Issue: 3

Pages: 389-400

Type: Article

More publications in: Boletín geológico y minero

Abstract

The intense droughts suffered in the Segura River basin (SE Spain) have brought about a significant increase in the extraction of groundwater from numerous aquifers, one of which is the Vega Media del Segura alluvial aquifer (where the city of Murcia is located). The top portion of it is composed of soft, cohesive deposits with more or less permeable intercalations, located above a consolidated layer of gravel and sand. The pumping is concentrated in this layer, which has generated a rapid and prominent decline in water table levels in formations nearer to the surface (from 5 to 8 meters in the 1992 to 1995 period), inducing tensional changes in the land that have produced moderate subsidence (from 2 to 8 cm in the city), resulting in significant damages to ever so many buildings. In order to understand the groundwater flow, a complete hydrogeological study was carried out, and a numerical model of groundwater flow was developed to determine its hydrodynamic functioning and analyze the influence of the different administrations water catchment plans for adverse weather periods.