Identification and characterization of regional water flows contributing to the recharge of an unconfined aquifer

Abstract

The aquifer recharge can be direct and diffuse, or can occur through interaction with surface water bodies, or from input of regional flows from remote areas according to the conditions of porosity and second permeability from the host rock. In this study, direct recharge areas and regional flow systems were determined for the Aburrá Valley-Colombia. Five factors were taken into consideration in order to identify recharge areas: location of the springs, weathering profiles, topography, structural patterns and infiltration. Hydrogeochemical and isotope methods were used in order to validate the model.