Gestão integrada de águas subterrâneas: critérios gerais orientadores para a definição e caracterização de áreas estratégicas de abastecimento

Abstract

This doctoral thesis deals with the distribution, occurrence and the main uses of groundwater resources and their importance in attending the demand for water, in certain areas of study. In this respect, an attempt was made to consider all the varied aspects related to the groundwateravailability and demand (i.e. quantity; quality; interconnection with the use and occupation of the soil; and, integration with surface waters), in conformity with the principles, concepts and current tendencies, established in the national and international scientific and managerialscenery. With all these aspects being considered, the study presented here could be viewed under the subject named Groundwater Integrated Management. Initially, for the development of this work, two different study domains, both of them located in the State of Ceará, Brazil, were taken into consideration. They are the following: 1) Região Metropolitana de Fortaleza (RMF); and, 2) Graben Crato-Juazeiro (GCJ). In thesegeographic domains, the concepts of critical and potentially strategic areas were used, with the purpose of demonstrating the groundwater potential to either completely fulfill the water supply demand and/or to act as a complementary source to the main installed system (based on surface water resource). The data obtained with the application of these concepts were used to define the so called Strategic Supply Areas, characterizing the quantitative and qualitative potential of the groundwater to increase the offer and to assist with the growing demands for water, in different planning stages. After that, based on the experience gained with the development of these regional cases, and taking into consideration the recommendations of recognized authorities in the field, an innovative work methodology was developed, establishing new general orientation criteria for the definition of Strategic Supply Areas, which could be applicable in any other generic domain. This newly developed methodology consists in the execution of hierarchical phases, translatedin terms of specific activities, work stages and tasks, with propositions and recommendations for the conduction of studies of this nature. Thus, as a final result, the distinct sequential phases of the proposed methodology, defined and organized by their correlated activities, aswell as by their respective work stages and tasks, were presented.