Surface-groundwater interaction in unconfined sedimentary aquifer system in the Brazil’s tropical wet region

Abstract

ABSTRACT Since groundwater and surface waters are important components of the hydrological system, determining their interaction is essential for the efficient management of water resources by predicting the consequences of interference, whether due to the growth of demand or due to climate change. However, integrated scientific studies on these water resources are scarce, including in the Guariroba’s Environmental Protection Area, responsible for supplying 31.3% of the Campo Grandem/MS’s population, representing a local water security element. Thus, this work had as objective to evaluate the interaction between surface-groundwater in an unconfined sedimentary aquifer system, based on hydrograph separation methodologies of base flow, Flow Duration Curve (FDC) analysis, Master Recession Curve (MRC) evaluation and verification of the relationship between the surface flow, piezometric levels (PL) of the wells and the monthly precipitation. The results indicates a proportional relationship between rainfall, superficial flow and PL variations; the FDC smooth slope suggests that the baseflow is sustained by the groundwater discharge, corresponding to 89% of the total flow; the low-flow index indicates that the groundwater’s storage capacity is about 80%; the Base-Flow Index (BFI) ranging from 0.804 to 0.921, indicates a stable flow regime, aquifer’s high permeability conditions, though not uniform, and low runoff.