Lessons to Be Learned: Groundwater Depletion in Chile’s Ligua and Petorca Watersheds through an Interdisciplinary Approach
Groundwater (GW) is the primary source of unfrozen freshwater on the planet and in many semi-arid areas, it is the only source of water available during low-water periods. In north-central Chile, there has been GW depletion as a result of semi-arid conditions and high water demand, which has unleash...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-08-01
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| Series: | Water |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/9/2446 |
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| author | Iongel Duran-Llacer Juan Munizaga José Luis Arumí Christopher Ruybal Mauricio Aguayo Katia Sáez-Carrillo Loretto Arriagada Octavio Rojas |
| author_facet | Iongel Duran-Llacer Juan Munizaga José Luis Arumí Christopher Ruybal Mauricio Aguayo Katia Sáez-Carrillo Loretto Arriagada Octavio Rojas |
| author_sort | Iongel Duran-Llacer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Groundwater (GW) is the primary source of unfrozen freshwater on the planet and in many semi-arid areas, it is the only source of water available during low-water periods. In north-central Chile, there has been GW depletion as a result of semi-arid conditions and high water demand, which has unleashed major social conflicts, some due to drought and others due to agribusiness practices against the backdrop of a private water management model. The Ligua and Petorca watersheds in the Valparaíso Region were studied in order to analyze the influence of climatic and anthropogenic factors on aquifer depletion using an interdisciplinary approach that integrates hydroclimatic variables, remote sensing data techniques, and GW rights data to promote sustainable GW management. The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) were calculated and the 2002–2017 land-use change was analyzed. It was shown that GW decreased significantly (in 75% of the wells) and that the hydrological drought was moderate and prolonged (longest drought in the last 36 years). The avocado-growing area in Ligua increased significantly—by 2623 ha—with respect to other agricultural areas (higher GW decrease), while in Petorca, it decreased by 128 ha. In addition, GW-rainfall correlations were low and GW rights were granted continuously despite the drought. The results confirmed that aquifer depletion was mostly influenced by human factors due to overexploitation by agriculture and a lack of water management. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T16:41:55Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5e0ebc0044cb4f6b9af974e6e98e4277 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T16:41:55Z |
| publishDate | 2020-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-5e0ebc0044cb4f6b9af974e6e98e42772023-11-20T11:58:20ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412020-08-01129244610.3390/w12092446Lessons to Be Learned: Groundwater Depletion in Chile’s Ligua and Petorca Watersheds through an Interdisciplinary ApproachIongel Duran-Llacer0Juan Munizaga1José Luis Arumí2Christopher Ruybal3Mauricio Aguayo4Katia Sáez-Carrillo5Loretto Arriagada6Octavio Rojas7Faculty of Environmental Sciences and EULA-Chile Center, Department of Territorial Planning, University of Concepcion, Víctor Lamas 1290, Concepción 4070386, ChileFaculty of Environmental Sciences and EULA-Chile Center, Department of Territorial Planning, University of Concepcion, Víctor Lamas 1290, Concepción 4070386, ChileDepartment of Water Resources, CHRIAM Water Center, University of Concepcion, Vicente Mendez 595, Chillán 3812120, ChileU.S. Fulbright Program-Chile, Department of Water Resources, University of Concepcion, Chillán 3812120, ChileFaculty of Environmental Sciences and EULA-Chile Center, Department of Territorial Planning, University of Concepcion, Víctor Lamas 1290, Concepción 4070386, ChileDepartment of Statistics, Faculty of Physical and Mathematical Sciences, University of Concepcion, Víctor Lamas 1290, Concepción 4070386, ChileFaculty of Environmental Sciences and EULA-Chile Center, Department of Territorial Planning, University of Concepcion, Víctor Lamas 1290, Concepción 4070386, ChileFaculty of Environmental Sciences and EULA-Chile Center, Department of Territorial Planning, University of Concepcion, Víctor Lamas 1290, Concepción 4070386, ChileGroundwater (GW) is the primary source of unfrozen freshwater on the planet and in many semi-arid areas, it is the only source of water available during low-water periods. In north-central Chile, there has been GW depletion as a result of semi-arid conditions and high water demand, which has unleashed major social conflicts, some due to drought and others due to agribusiness practices against the backdrop of a private water management model. The Ligua and Petorca watersheds in the Valparaíso Region were studied in order to analyze the influence of climatic and anthropogenic factors on aquifer depletion using an interdisciplinary approach that integrates hydroclimatic variables, remote sensing data techniques, and GW rights data to promote sustainable GW management. The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) were calculated and the 2002–2017 land-use change was analyzed. It was shown that GW decreased significantly (in 75% of the wells) and that the hydrological drought was moderate and prolonged (longest drought in the last 36 years). The avocado-growing area in Ligua increased significantly—by 2623 ha—with respect to other agricultural areas (higher GW decrease), while in Petorca, it decreased by 128 ha. In addition, GW-rainfall correlations were low and GW rights were granted continuously despite the drought. The results confirmed that aquifer depletion was mostly influenced by human factors due to overexploitation by agriculture and a lack of water management.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/9/2446groundwater depletiondroughtNDVI time seriesland-use changeagriculturegroundwater rights |
| spellingShingle | Iongel Duran-Llacer Juan Munizaga José Luis Arumí Christopher Ruybal Mauricio Aguayo Katia Sáez-Carrillo Loretto Arriagada Octavio Rojas Lessons to Be Learned: Groundwater Depletion in Chile’s Ligua and Petorca Watersheds through an Interdisciplinary Approach Water groundwater depletion drought NDVI time series land-use change agriculture groundwater rights |
| title | Lessons to Be Learned: Groundwater Depletion in Chile’s Ligua and Petorca Watersheds through an Interdisciplinary Approach |
| title_full | Lessons to Be Learned: Groundwater Depletion in Chile’s Ligua and Petorca Watersheds through an Interdisciplinary Approach |
| title_fullStr | Lessons to Be Learned: Groundwater Depletion in Chile’s Ligua and Petorca Watersheds through an Interdisciplinary Approach |
| title_full_unstemmed | Lessons to Be Learned: Groundwater Depletion in Chile’s Ligua and Petorca Watersheds through an Interdisciplinary Approach |
| title_short | Lessons to Be Learned: Groundwater Depletion in Chile’s Ligua and Petorca Watersheds through an Interdisciplinary Approach |
| title_sort | lessons to be learned groundwater depletion in chile s ligua and petorca watersheds through an interdisciplinary approach |
| topic | groundwater depletion drought NDVI time series land-use change agriculture groundwater rights |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/9/2446 |
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