Modeling and Prefeasibility Management, and Conservation Strategies for Fuentetoba Springs, (Spain)

Abstract

The efficacy of various catchment and management schemes in the regulation of the Fuentetoba karst spring (Spain) was evaluated by using its groundwater reserves. This regulation of the spring would simultaneously serve to increase the reliability of the drinking-water supply to Soria (Spain), develop the ecological flow of the river that has its source in that spring, and improve the environmental needs and requirements by managing the flow of a remarkable natural waterfall at its source. Speleological explorations have been essential in designing a pumping system in the drainage conduit of the spring located 400 m upstream of it and 45 m below the level of the aquifer drainage. For the evaluation of the viability of the interannual regulation, the hydraulic dynamics of the spring were analyzed by calculating the inputs and outputs of water to the system with the application of a precipitation–runoff model that was used to simulate the pumping effects in the spring hydrograph. The results indicated that the aquifer presented a high guarantee of having a flow for the supply for the environment. This study can be applied to other springs, and may be useful in sustainably managing any aquifer.