W.G. 4. AQUIFER ENGINEERING

The report of the COST ACTION 621 “Groundwater management in coastal karstic aquifers” is the result of the comparison and fusion of personal experiences of researchers coming from 15 european countries, which faced in their job many aspects both of the functioning and the managing of these karstic coastal aquifers. At the end of five years of meetings and visits held in towns and places of the 15 countries taking part to this COST ACTION 625, it has been written this report in the aim of fixing the work made and the experience carried on. On the other hand this report contains a very interesting and updated compilation of engineering methodologies adopted for groundwater exploitation in coastal karstic aquifer, and it presents many examples of catchment works, realized in european countries, of these methodologies. In particular this chapter 4 deals with different type of catchment works engineering. As a matter of fact in karst aquifers due to the general lack of surface water, groundwater exploitation is the only way to satisfy water demand, which is increasing in every coastal area, and usually surpasses the dynamic potential replenishment of the natural freshwater system. This fact causes a phenomenon named overexploitation, which is the origin of seawater intrusion. The engineering of catchment works in karstic coastal aquifers deals mainly about the problem of groundwater exploitation without starting seaweater intrusion and the consequent groundwater contamination.