Behaviour of a small sedimentary volcanic aquifer receiving irrigation return flows: La Aldea, Gran Canaria, Canary Islands (Spain)

Abstract

In many arid and semi-arid areas, intensive cultivation is practiced despite water commonly being a limiting factor. Often, irrigation water is from local aquifers or imported from out-of-area aquifers and surface reservoirs. Irrigation return flows become a significant local recharge source, but they may deteriorate aquifer water quality. La Aldea valley, located in the western sector of Gran Canaria Island (Atlantic Ocean), is a coastal, half-closed depression in altered, low-permeability volcanics with alluvium in the gullies and scree deposits over a large part of the area. This area is intensively cultivated. Irrigation water comes from reservoirs upstream and is supplemented (average 30 %) by local groundwater; supplementation goes up to 70 % in dry years, in which groundwater reserves are used up to exhaustion if the dry period persists. Thus, La Aldea aquifer is key to the water-supply system, whose recharge is mostly from return irrigation flows and the scarce local rainfall recharge on the scree formations, conveyed to the gully deposits. To quantify the hydrogeological conceptual model and check data coherence, a simplified numerical model has been constructed, which can be used as a tool to help in water management.