Analysis of groundwater and river stage fluctuations and their relationship with water use and climate variation effects on Alto Grande watershed, Northeastern Brazil

Marques, Eduardo Antônio Gomes; Silva, Gerson Cardoso da; Eger, Glauco Z.S.; Ilambwetsi, Archange Michael; Pousa, Raphael; Generoso, Tarcila Neves; Oliveira, Josiane; Júnior, Jales N.

doi:10.1016/j.jsames.2020.102723

Cited by 26 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Parallel flow duration curves, like Figure 7c-f, indicate that the decrease in discharge is mainly caused by the reduction in rainfall, and modulated by the aquifer. While a monitoring piezometer network of the aquifer was set up only in 2011, by 2015 it already shows groundwater level drawdown of up to 5 m [24].…”

Section: Changes In River Flowmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate Change and Intense Irrigation Growth in Western Bahia, Brazil: The Urgent Need for Hydroclimatic Monitoring

Pousa

Costa

Pimenta

et al. 2019

Water

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In Western Bahia, one of the most active agricultural frontiers of the world, cropland area and irrigated area are increasing at fast rates, and water conflicts have been happening at least since 2010. This study makes a hydroclimatic analysis of the water resources in Western Bahia, from both supply and demand viewpoints. Time series of precipitation for the period 1980–2015 and river discharge for the period 1978–2015 are analyzed, indicating a significant reduction of up to 12% in rainfall since the 1980s, and a reduction in river discharge in all stations studied, in both the rainy season and the dry season. Combined with that, irrigated area has increased over 150-fold in 30 years, and in the most irrigated regions, has increased by 90% in the last eight years only. Seven regions in Western Bahia have been identified where the potential for water use conflicts is critical. Moreover, the combination of reduced availability and increased demand of water resources indicates that, if current trends are maintained, conflicts over water may become more frequent in the next years or decades. A short-term alternative to avoid such conflicts is to largely avoid irrigation during the months with low discharge. However, a monitoring system in which the availability and demand of water resources for irrigation are actually measured and monitored, is the safest path to provide water security to this region.

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Section: Changes In River Flowmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate Change and Intense Irrigation Growth in Western Bahia, Brazil: The Urgent Need for Hydroclimatic Monitoring

Pousa

Costa

Pimenta

et al. 2019

Water

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“…The results for streamflows, unlike those for precipitation (significant results were always less than 15% of stations used), were significant for the most part (the significant results were always greater than 70% of the stations used). Moreover, recent studies on the evolution of the Urucuia Aquifer also have shown a significant decrease of its groundwater level since year 2000 [19,57,58]. As example, decrease in terrestrial water storage (TWS) (Terrestrial water storage (TWS) can be defined as the sum of all water on the earth's surface and in the subsoil.…”

Section: Hydrological Analyses and Intense Irrigation Growthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Water Appropriation on the Agricultural Frontier in Western Bahia and Its Contribution to Streamflow Reduction: Revisiting the Debate in the Brazilian Cerrado

Silva

Souza

Filho

et al. 2021

Water

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Over the last three decades, almost half of the Brazilian tropical savanna (Cerrado biome) has been converted into cropland and planted pastures. This study aims to understand the implications of the expansion of the agricultural frontier for water resources in western Bahia state. We use an interdisciplinary approach that combines quantitative and qualitative data (spatial and hydrological analysis, interviews) to tie together land use changes in the Corrente basin, the streamflow and precipitation time series in the Pratudão River sub-basin (part of the Corrente basin), and the perceptions of soybean farmers and smallholder communities about the transformations of the hydrological cycle over the last few years. We observed an almost 10-fold increase in agricultural surface area in the Corrente River basin over the last three decades (1986–2018), going on from 57,090 ha to 565,084 ha, while center-pivot irrigated areas increased from 240 ha to 43,631 ha. Over this period, the streamflow has reduced by 38% in the Pratudão River. Our hydrological analyses, based on the Mann-Kendall test, of seven fluviometric stations and 14 pluviometry stations showed a statistically significant streamflow trend in the Pratudão River sub-basin for both minimum and mean streamflow series (p ≤0.05). Surface runoff coefficient, which relates streamflow and precipitation annual data coefficient, decreased from around 0.4 in the late 1990s to less than 0.2 in 2015. In addition, most precipitation time series analysis (number of annual rainy days) showed no statistically significant trend (p > 0.05). Our results indicate that agricultural changes rather than climate change may be the main driver of downward streamflow trends in the Pratudão River sub-basin that is part of Corrente River basin.

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“…Alternatively, farmers have begun exploiting options other than surface water. The increasing agribusiness activities in the region have led, however, to intensified groundwater withdrawal and unsustainable exploitation, as documented by the severe drawdown in groundwater levels (Marques et al 2020).…”

Section: Can the Sustainable Water Use Be Increased?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of water availability vulnerability in the Cerrado

Althoff

Silva

2021

Appl Water Sci

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Many basins in the Cerrado biome already face increases in water disputes caused by agricultural expansion without long-term planning and monitoring of natural resources. The amount and timing of water availability are crucial for the socioeconomic development of agricultural activities and climate change resilience enhancement in the Cerrado. This study relied on a dataset developed for the Cerrado to characterize its climate and current water availability status. Different climate indices and hydrological signatures were adopted to describe the energy and water budget, climate seasonality, flow magnitude, flow dynamics, and average duration of low-flow events. Risk analysis was carried out to classify the monthly risk severity and identify periods and regions under a higher pressure regarding water availability in the Cerrado. Overall, the water availability is higher in the western and southern regions and lower in the eastern and northern regions, which experience a transition to a humid and semiarid climate, respectively. The water resources in the Cerrado occur under the highest pressure in September and October. We also identified regions with the potential to increase sustainable water use. These regions exhibit a low ratio between the flow equal to or exceeded 95% of the time and the mean flow (Q95/Q), which indicates that sustainable water use may be improved with techniques related to flow regularization and rainwater/runoff harvesting.

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Analysis of groundwater and river stage fluctuations and their relationship with water use and climate variation effects on Alto Grande watershed, Northeastern Brazil

Cited by 26 publications

References 22 publications

Climate Change and Intense Irrigation Growth in Western Bahia, Brazil: The Urgent Need for Hydroclimatic Monitoring

Climate Change and Intense Irrigation Growth in Western Bahia, Brazil: The Urgent Need for Hydroclimatic Monitoring

Water Appropriation on the Agricultural Frontier in Western Bahia and Its Contribution to Streamflow Reduction: Revisiting the Debate in the Brazilian Cerrado

Assessment of water availability vulnerability in the Cerrado

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