Water supply system evaluation with approach in the lowering of the dynamic groundwater levels of the wells of the São Carlos city – Brazil
Abstract
It is notable the growing preference in the use of groundwater into the water supply system of São Paulo State- Brazil in the last years. This occurs because of pumping cost are getting cheaper and it is happening the deterioration of the quality of the rivers’ water. Nevertheless, this decision is usually made only in base in economic factors. To study the system, it was developed a mixed integer linear programming model which considers the lowering of the wells’ dynamic groundwater levels and the pumping of rivers and wells in a period of 30 years. To test the model, were made scenarios that consider diverse situations of costs to the lowering of the dynamic water table from the wells. The solutions simulate how the system would work in the future in terms of how many units of wells would be activated and how the lowering would happen. The results reveal the best solution found to minimize the environmental impacts by meaning the best arrangement of the system operation to optimize the resilience of the groundwater levels and adapt to the constraints which claim to guarantee the sustainability of the system.