Riassunto: L'utilizzo della modellistica delle acque sotterranee a supporto della pianificazione e gestione della risorsa idrica è il possibile traguardo di un percorso di studio e ricerca lungo ed articolato. In questo contesto si colloca il presente lavoro che riguarda alcune applicazioni realizzate nell'ambito degli acquiferi della pianura della Regione Emilia-Romagna, nell'Italia settentrionale. Le principali caratteristiche dei modelli matematici realizzati ed ora disponibili sono riportate unitamente al necessario inquadramento geologico ed idrogeologico degli acquiferi analizzati. Sono discusse le principali scelte operative che hanno caratterizzato l'implementazione iniziale di tutti i modelli e che permettono ad oggi il loro continuo sviluppo ed aggiornamento. Occorre mantenere attivi i flussi di dati che li alimentano e che ne conservano la funzionalità (gestione del modello). I modelli descritti sono stati utilizzati in diversi ambiti applicativi dai quali emerge la potenzialità di un loro utilizzo mirato ad obiettivi di pianificazione e di gestione della risorsa idrica sotterranea. Sono riportati due esempi, alle due diverse scale alle quali sono disponibili i modelli. Il primo mostra come il modello alla scala dell'intero acquifero emiliano-romagnolo, sia stato in grado di adattarsi ai nuovi corpi idrici sotterranei definiti in base alla Direttiva 2000/60/CE, attuale quadro normativo di riferimento per la pianificazione della risorsa idrica. Tale quadro prevede la definizione di programmi di misure il cui livello di efficacia può essere stimato col supporto dei modelli. Il secondo riguarda invece l'utilizzo di un modello a scala di singola conoide in riferimento ad una valutazione specifica di fattibilità di un intervento di ricarica artificiale delle falde. La tecnologia qui impiegata, legata all'esperienza maturata in oltre 10 anni di sviluppo ed applicazione di modelli numerici per le acque sotterranee, permette ora di utilizzarli nel ruolo di servizio sistematico a supporto degli enti preposti alla gestione e pianificazione della risorsa idrica sotterranea. Abstract: The use of groundwater modeling to support the planning and management of water resources is a possible goal of a long and
<p>Artificial groundwater recharge is a promising adaptation measure to face the increasing drought risk on freshwater availability. Its efficiency strongly depends on the climatic and hydrogeological conditions of the area of interest. In particular the structure of the underlying aquifer plays a key role. In fact, many open questions remain about the effectiveness of recharge for multi-layer aquifers, due to the complexity of their hydrogeological behaviour.</p> <p>In this study we perform a series of simulations aimed at assessing the effectiveness of winter/spring artificial groundwater recharge on a portion of alluvial fans in the Emilia-Romagna region (Italy). This area is a large agricultural plain which heavily relies on groundwater for irrigation. Here, aquifers are located mainly in fluvial sediment deposits of several hundred meters thickness, and in underlying marine sediment deposits.</p> <p>A numerical groundwater flow model has been developed in MODFLOW 6. This model is based on a previous application of MODFLOW to the whole Emilia-Romagna area by the Regional Agency for Environmental Protection (ARPAE), and extends over a wide area east of the River Secchia. Input data cover a multi-year simulation period, therefore representing seasonal variations of hydrometeorology.</p> <p>Calibration has been implemented by comparing observed and simulated water table levels during the period 2002-2018.</p> <p>Simulations are generated for various boundary conditions, mainly for different hypotheses of groundwater recharge. In particular, we assume that winter/spring recharge is increased by an assigned multiplier that is homogeneous in space over the recharge area, in order to simulate a spatially distributed artificial recharge which may be provided by winter irrigation.</p> <p>The results show that the effectiveness of recharge depends on the initial conditions of the aquifer and the precipitation regime during the winter season. During drought conditions artificial recharge seems to be an interesting option for risk mitigation.</p>
<p>Aquifers play a relevant role in the mitigation of the risk due to the occurrence of drought events in the Emilia-Romagna region. In fact, their capability to store relevant volumes of water and the long time span between meteorological and groundwater droughts make aquifers an essential resource during dry periods. To mitigate the risk induced by water scarcity, in 2014 a managed recharge experiment was carried out on the River Marecchia alluvial fan. In detail, an additional volume taken from the river was diverted into a quarry lake. The lake is an outcrop of the aquifer, therefore an increase in the lake water volume produces a corresponding increase of the piezometric level in the aquifer, and therefore larger groundwater availability.</p><p>Several international experiences on the management of aquifers for civil and agricultural water supply have shown the value of the information that can be derived by running groundwater simulation models. In particular, MODFLOW, an open access groundwater simulation model developed by the United States Geological Survey, is widely applied.</p><p>The purpose of this work is to apply MODFLOW to study solutions for managing artificial recharge in the River Marecchia alluvial fan. In particular, a previous application of MODFLOW by the <em>Regional Agency for Prevention, Environment and Energy of Emilia-Romagna</em> (ARPAE) has been repeated by using a different model interface, ModelMuse, and additional climatic scenarios.</p><p>The work confirms the potential benefits that can be provided by a groundwater simulation model for optimizing aquifer recharge. The application confirmed that recharge may be very successful in this specific case for mitigating the impact of water withdrawals.</p>
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