Abstract

LLANES-CARDENAS, O et al. Hydro-environmental effects of the extraction of water from the Sinaloa River Aquifer. Universidad y ciencia [online]. 2011, vol.27, n.3, pp.239-249. ISSN 0186-2979.

The coastal plain of the Sinaloa River aquifer is vulnerable to anthropogenic and natural pollution. Impacts are increased by the shallowness of the groundwaters (0.1 to 9.2 m) and a high evapotranspiration (834.32 mm year⁻¹) that is not balanced by the annual average rainfall (577.9 mm year⁻¹). According to this scenario, the objectives of this study were: (1) to determine the vulnerability of the aquifer in face of coastal pollution and (2) to estimate the vulnerability as a function of groundwater flow, resulting from anthropogenic activities. The standardized DRASTIC INDEX method was applied at a 1:10 000 scale and the piezometry of the region was determined through the information recorded for 155 wells. The parameters recorded were the depth of the water table (D), the net recharge (R), the aquifer material media (A), the soil type (S), the topography and slope of the land (T), the impact on the unsaturated zone (I), the hydraulic conductivity (C) and the height of the piezometric surface, and the hydraulic head was calculated. The results indicate a vulnerability that varies from insignificant (Vi) to high (Va), with a variation range of 88 to 166 units, mitigated when the force of the aquifer flow is high and accentuated when it is reduced. The coast and the western area were the most vulnerable, with 35 and 8%, and indices of 140 to 166 and 139 to 157. The high DRASTIC indices were attributed to the accumulation of solutes that are transported to the coast by a regional flow and an intermediate flow, which trap them in small basins of reduced thickness.

Keywords : Vulnerability; pollution; aquifer; flow; DRASTIC Index.