RT Journal Article
T1 Groundwater divide shifting due to pumping in a sector of the Doñana aquifer system (SW Spain): environmental implications
A1 Olías Álvarez, Manuel
A1 Basallote Sánchez, María Dolores
A1 Ruiz Cánovas, Carlos
A1 Pérez Carral Lorenzo, María Cristina
AB The Doñana Natural Space (SW Spain) isconsidered one of the most important European wetlands,with many ecosystems depending on groundwater.As a consequence of intense groundwaterwithdrawals for urban use and, above all, irrigation,serious impacts have been observed in the easternpart of this aquifer, where the Doñana National Parkis located. There is also groundwater exploitation inthe western part of the aquifer, where a groundwaterdivide exists. The main goal of this work is to analyzethe impact of groundwater withdrawals in this area.For this, the evolution of groundwater levels since1968 in piezometers and pumping wells has beencompiled and analyzed. This zone is characterized by the existence of a deep aquifer of high transmissivity,and a shallow aquifer with lower hydraulic conductivity,which behaves as an aquitard. Results show thatpumping has caused a strong cone of depression inthe deep aquifer, shifting the groundwater divide, anddiverting water originally directed to the protectedarea, aggravating the overexploitation problems.Drawdowns in the shallow aquifer are lower andseem to be masked by the slow groundwater dynamic.However, a small lowering of the water table maycause severe impacts on such fragile ecosystems. Thedivision of the aquifer for its management into sixgroundwater bodies belonging to two hydrographicdistricts has caused these important changes to gounnoticed until now. A proper coordination betweenthe different water authorities managing groundwaterand urgent adoption of remediation measures isessential
PB Springer
SN 0167-6369
SN 1573-2959 (electrónico)
YR 2025
FD 2025-04
LK https://hdl.handle.net/10272/25409
UL https://hdl.handle.net/10272/25409
LA eng
NO Olías, M., Basallote, M. D., Cánovas, C. R., & Pérez-Carral, C. (2025). Groundwater divide shifting due to pumping in a sector of the Doñana aquifer system (SW Spain): environmental implications. In Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (Vol. 197, Issue 5). Springer Science and Business Media LLC. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-025-13965-z
NO The authors wish to thank the HydrographicConfederation of Guadalquivir, the Water ResourcesGeneral Authority of the Andalusian Regional Government,the Doñana Natural Space, and the Spanish Geological Surveyfor the piezometric data provided. We appreciate the detailedreview of the original manuscript that has allowed us to significantlyimprove itFunding for open access publishing: Universidadde Huelva/CBUA. C.R. Cánovas thanks the Spanish Ministryof Science and Innovation for the Postdoctoral Fellowshipgranted under application reference RYC2019–027949-I.M.D. Basallote thanks the Regional Government of Andalusiafor the 28 EMERGIA grant (EMC21_00363). This researchreceived partial financial support/funding from the EU project101071300 Sustainable Horizons (HORIZON).
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Huelva
RD 31 may 2026