Caracterización del funcionamiento hidrológico de la laguna de Zóñar (Andalucía, España)Implicaciones de la extracción de aguas subterráneas en la evolución del nivel del agua

Abstract

This paper reports characterization of the hydrological functioning in Zóñar lake, located in the province of Cordoba, in Southern Spain. The interpretation of morphometric indexes, together with a water budget from 1992 to 2006, enabled us to evaluate the hydrogeological functioning of the system and the evolution of the lake water level. A simple soil-water budget in the watershed was implemented previously to the lake-water budget to estimate both runoff and near-surface groundwater flow (i. e. surplus from the soil-water budget). Runoff is produced by inter and intra annual pulses and groundwater flow is characterized by its uniformity. Results from the lake-water budget show a good correlation (>90%) after calibration with time-series of water level in the lake. The model of the water budget can be thus considered calibrated and two possible scenarios of groundwater withdrawal within the basin were analyzed. Finally, we believe that the development of this hydro-morphological methodology can be useful to the assessment and the future management of this water body and similar ecosystems under a changing semi-arid climate.