Preliminary studies for the design of an artificial recharge plant in the eastern part of the “El Carracillo” region, Segovia

Abstract

Since the 90s, the General Directorate for Rural Development of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment, in coordination with the Department of Agriculture of the Regional Government of Castile and Leon, has carried out various activities with the aim of defining and understanding the behaviour of the Carracillo aquifer compared to artificial recharge trials on the surface. In 2006, with the collaboration of the Tragsa Group, artificial recharge with winter surplus of the Cega River in the western paleo-landform area was initiated. This sector has insufficient capacity to respond to all the water demand of the region. Driven by this situation, the work required to ascertain the possibilities of the aquifer in the western storage area sector were started. Among the activities carried out, the drilling of 27 boreholes to obtain continuous samples should be highlighted, plus 6 hydrogeological investigation boreholes, in which pumping tests were made, both individually and jointly. The vertical infiltration rate was estimated and the surface area for recharging was quantified. The water chemistry of the recharges from the Cega River and of the native aquifer was also studied in order to foresee what might be the compositional changes in the aquifer water. Based on this data a mathematical model, which had been developed in 2001, was updated by carrying out various simulations of possible scenarios.