Evaluación de un acuífero y sus reservas con fines de explotación agrícola. (Caso: Porción del acuífero ubicado en la finca “El Puerto” en Santa Cruz del Zulia-Venezuela)

Abstract

The objective of this work was to evaluate the availability of ground water in order to establish a series of policies of exploitation for agricultural use. An examination of the characteristics of the aquifer and its response to different strategies of management is provided. The available information about the study area was gathered and analyzed, considering a non-steady-state regime. The modeling of the aquifer considered the presence of two pumping wells. Five strategies of the unconfined aquifer exploitation were simulated using the model “WINFLOW”. Several scenarios of exploitation of the aquifer were simulated considering a period of time of 20 years, and different values of extraction. The values of extracted water ranged from those needed to satisfy the evapotranspiration demand of the crops in the area to those that involve additional uses. With regard to the recharge of the aquifer, the contributions from both precipitation and a river were considered. The model simulated that discharges over 50 m3/d will produce excessive drawdown. The strategies recommended were to consider pumping rates ranging from 20 to 50 m3/d to assure a sustainable use of the aquifer.