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Variação temporal do nível freático do aqüífero cárstico de Irecê - Bahia: contribuição para uso e gestão das águas subterrâneas no semi-árido

2007; Sociedade Brasileira de Geologia; Volume: 37; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.5327/rbg.v37i4.1338

2317-4889

Sandro Oliveira Ramos, Heráclio Alves de Araújo, Luíz Rogério Bastos Leal, Joana Angélica Guimarães da Luz, Alan R. Dutton,

Fish biology, ecology, and behavior

The micro-region of Irece, object area of this study, situated in the central region of the state of Bahia on the right margin of the Sao Francisco river, encloses an area of 9,380 km². This region is known nationally for its great agricultural potentiality, mainly the bean culture, and more recently, the carrot, beetroot and onion cultures. Because of the great land availability for agricultural activities, we have observed a disordered increase of the irrigated areas, making use of the region’s underground water of the karst aquifer. During the last two decades, both population increase and agricultural activity have accelerated in Bahia’s Irece region. The combination of the productive agricultural land, abundant groundwater reserves, excellent groundwater quality, absence of governmental regulation, and low-cost flood irrigation systems explain the increases in the number of groundwater production wells and the amount of acreage under irrigation throughout Irece region. Water levels in the aquifer are falling rapidly (average of ~ 1m/yr). Drawdown of the potentiometric surface in turn impacts the discharge of springs base flow of rivers. The potential for groundwater contamination from agricultural activities and waste-disposal practices is an increasing concern.