The Impact of a Lack of Government Strategies for Sustainable Water Management and Land Use Planning on the Hydrology of Water Bodies: Lessons Learned from the Disappearance of the Aculeo Lagoon in Central Chile

Rodrigo Valdés-Pineda,Héctor L Venegas-Quiñones,Roberto Pizarro,Juan B Valdés,Pablo A Garcia-Chevesich,Alberto J Alaniz

doi:10.3390/su14010413

Abstract

Several studies have focused on why the Aculeo Lagoon in central Chile disappeared, with a recent one concluding that a lack of precipitation was the main cause, bringing tremendous political consequences as it supported the argument that the government is not responsible for this environmental, economic, and social disaster. In this study, we evaluated in detail the socio-economic history of the watershed, the past climate and its effects on the lagoon’s water levels (including precipitation recycling effects), anthropogenic modifications to the lagoon’s water balance, the evolution of water rights and demands, and inaccurate estimates of sustainable groundwater extraction volumes from regional aquifers. This analysis has revealed novel and undisputable evidence that this natural body of water disappeared primarily because of anthropogenic factors (mostly river deviations and aquifer pumping) that, combined with the effects of less than a decade with below-normal precipitation, had a severe impact on this natural lagoon–aquifer system.

Highlights

2005, such practice did not affect the hydrologic balance of the Aculeo Lagoon–aquifer system much, as they were irrigated with flooding methods, which might be an inefficient practice, but it is well known to recycle most of the water back to the aquifer through percolation
Annual crops literally disappeared from the area, being gradually replaced by summer homes, characterized by their highly demanding lawn surfaces and swimming pools, though green areas in the watershed decreased as a result of water scarcity
The abrupt establishment of fruit tree plantations around 2010 was the most significant land use change, being the most water-demanding agricultural practice, and, they are irrigated through dripping systems, eliminating the historical aquifer recharge effect that annual crops used to have

Summary

Introduction

Lakes and similar surface water bodies represent an important part of the hydrologic cycle of many watersheds around the world, providing water resources for human activities, and recreation and ecosystem services, among others [1]. Many lakes worldwide are drastically disappearing in recent years due to a combination of excessive withdrawals and/or climate change effects. Large natural surface bodies of water such as the Aral Sea in Central Asia, Chad Lake in Africa, Figuibine Lake in Mali, Poopo Lake in Bolivia, Assal Lake in Djibouti, and Urmia Lake in Iran, among many other cases, have gone dry during the last decade, resulting in dramatic economic, social, and ecologic consequences (e.g., [2,3]).

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Results

Conclusion