Temporal and Spatial Diversity of Renewable Groundwater Resources in the River Valley

Abstract

Quantitative assessment of the amount of renewable resources allows their evaluation, valorization and protection in terms of the possibility of their environmental management under climate change conditions. The aim of the study was to determine the amount of renewable resources in the Middle Vistula valley, in the region of the Kampinos National Park, central Poland. The amount of renewable resources was calculated on a hydrodynamical model for three variants, as the average, the lowest and the highest infiltration recharge rate for a specified period of 1999–2013. The modelling research was conducted in a strongly differentiated hydrogeological valley unit, in which several geomorphological units could be delineated: the floodplain, over-flood terraces and the plain area. The hydrodynamic modelling results were verified by comparing the obtained data with both the amount of drainage in the valley zone and the underground streamflow. The assessment of renewable groundwater resources in three distinctive variants was the basis for calculating the groundwater footprints, defined as a quantitative assessment of the groundwater use in climate change conditions.