Groundwater Sustainability Strategies in the Sierra de Gador-Campo de Dalias System, Southeast Spain

Abstract

Maintaining sustainable development in semi-arid regions is a complex task due to scarce precipitation, with notable temporal and spatial variations that complicate planning and proper management of water resources. Most of the water extractions from the aquifers in southeast Spain are carried out to supply a growing agricultural sector and increasingly successful tourism, which is the case of the Sierra de Gador-Campo de Dalias system. Savings, reutilization and awareness among water users are essential elements in any sustainable water policy. Some of the possible solutions proposed that offer low environmental impacts include certain infrastructure works, such as dams, ditches or recharge in gravel pits. Also, desalinization plants constitute a technical alternative in theory but involve high costs. The integration of all these resources, together with their proper management, is necessary to ensure the future water supply and economic growth in the region, safeguarding the state of its aquifers that are currently intensely overexploited.

Extending Natural Limits to Address Water Scarcity? The Role of Non-Conventional Water Fluxes in Climate Change Adaptation Capacity: A Review

“…However, profitability depends highly on the type of crop [110]. Although greenhouse crops can cope with desalinated water costs over 0.6 €/m 3 [79,116,117], the most representative crops in south-east Spain present a lower mean net margin of water, which ranges between 0.3 €/m 3 and 0.6 €/m 3 , thus the price of desalinated water compromises its profitability [110,118,119].…”

Influence of Groundwater Discharge on Temporal Evolution in Two Wetlands of an Intensely Anthropized Area: Analysis Using an Integrated Approach

“…This system represents the main source of water supply for the most productive fruit and vegetable sector in Europe. Managing water resources involves diversification of water resources, fostering the use of desalinated water as well as the reuse of wastewater [20,21]. The Sierra de Gádor-Campo de Dalías system shows the complexity of managing water resources in semi-arid environments, where groundwater extraction must be suitable for groundwater management in agricultural areas [22], taking into account the importance of water management at basin scale [23].…”

“…In the 1990s, extractions from the shallow aquifer decreased, due to the salinization of its waters as a result of irrigation return flows and soil salinization [24]. This led to the search for other water resources and the deep carbonated aquifer began to be heavily exploited through deep drilling, reaching extraction volumes of 120 × 106 m 3 /year [20] as a result of its good water quality. The development of this process brought about the formation and evolution of the Balsa del Sapo inland wetland [25].…”

“…The outcropping geological materials in its interior setting correspond to a powerful series of loams covered by sandy loams, sands, and calcarenites of the Pliocene age above which there are four levels of Tyrrhenian marine deposits [26]. The intensive agricultural activity during the 1970s, together with poor natural soil development, led to a system that involved quarrying silt and clay deposits that could be used as soil in the greenhouses [20]. The abandonment of these quarries brought about the formation of Balsa del Sapo wetland in the central part of the CD.…”

“…Along the coastal strip, there are two coastal wetlands (Punta Entinas and Salinas de Cerrillos). The wetlands consist of two partially-silted tidal lagoons, separated from the sea by sandbanks and dunes, which developed extensively throughout the Holocene [20]. Salinas de Cerrillos have undergone human-related changes whereas Punta Entinas has not been affected by human-related changes.…”