Groundwater Resilience Assessment in a Communal Coastal Aquifer System. The Case of Manglaralto in Santa Elena, Ecuador

Abstract

Resilience has several meanings, among them the ability to overcome difficulty and return to the state of providing service, even if the initial conditions change. Assessing resilience in an ecosystem, or any system, requires a concise methodology with standard variables and parameters. The current challenge presented by coastal areas is focused on overcoming problems related to the water supply through correct management. This paper aims to evaluate the communal coastal aquifer system with a matrix for assessing water resilience based on indicators in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a socio-hydrological framework and the four axes of development (political, social, environmental, and cultural), to promote the development of new strategies for water sustainability. The method is based on (i) political, economic, social, environmental, and even cultural aspects involved in sustainable water management and (ii) the groundwater resilience assessment method (GRAM) design. The GRAM is used for a quasi-quantitative assessment of the resilience in a communal coastal aquifer system. This method was applied to the Manglaralto community; the results show a highly resilient groundwater system (62.33/100 points). Representatives of the community have achieved appropriate use, management, and conservation of the water resource by applying water harvesting and other technical criteria. Hence, they have avoided aquifer overexploitation and provided water to the community.