Sustainable karst groundwater management in a semiarid region: the case of Su Gologone spring (Sardinia, Italy)

Francesco Sanna (1), Laura Sanna (2), Jo De Waele (3) & Bartolomeo Vigna (4)
(1) Department of Hydraulic Projects of Sardinia Region, Nuoro, Italy. (2) Institute for Biometeorology, National Research Council of Italy, Trav. La Crucca, 3, 07100, Sassari, Italy. (3) Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, Italy. (4) Department of Environment, Land and Infrastructure Engineering, Politecnical University of Turin, Italy. Corresponding author e-mail: sanna@ibimet.cnr.it

The Su Gologone karst spring has been recently investigated to assess how the karst aquifer would react in possible different meteorological conditions. The aim of the project is to develop a flexible and appropriate approach for its karst groundwater exploitation both taking into account the special features of the Supramonte karst landscape and without affecting the quality and quantity of the resource. For this purpose, the spring water level was continuously measured while flow rates measurements were performed monthly. From 1-year monitored, a high discharge variance and an impulsive behaviour to recharge input was detected indicating the presence of a transmissive drainage network with high hydraulic conductivity. The storage capacity associated to the low-conductive fracture system is still unknown. On the basis of these results, a new setup of the pumping facility together with a flexible management of water withdrawal is proposed, allowing the adaptation of the quantity of exploited groundwater depending on the hydro-meteorological conditions.

groundwater management, karst hydrogeology, sustainable exploitation, karst spring, Supramonte.