Implicações da urbanização no comportamento hidrológico da bacia endorreica do Tabuleiro do Martins, Maceió/AL

Abstract

The increasing urban expansion that Maceió (AL) experienced throughout its history and has been experiencing more accelerated in recent decades, did not follow a rational planning of soil use and occupation, which caused several problems such as the removal of vegetation and its replacement by impermeable surfaces, thereby changing the dynamics of hydrological processes existing in the region before. This work started from the hypothesis that the expansion and the growth of cities interfere in watershed hydrological behavior inserted in the urban environment. Soil sealing reduces infiltration, affecting recharge of aquifers, increases the runoff of rainwater and, consequently, leads to increase of flooding processes. In this context, this work characterizes the spatial and temporal evolution of the urbanization in endorheic basin Tabuleiro do Martins (Maceió/AL) and its impacts on runoff and groundwater recharge of local aquifers systems. To this end, analysis, data integration, hydrological parameters and mapping are performed in an environment of a Geographic Information System (GIS), applying two hydrological models to define of runoff (SCS-CN model) and water storage in soil (Potential ground water recharge). The temporal assessment of the urbanization process is done in three scenarios: year 1988; year 2002; and year 2013. In this way, the research aimed to produce information that could subsidize the planning of soil use and occupation in order to minimize the impact on hydrological endorheic basin Tabuleiro do Martins, important area of recharge of the aquifer systems, in particular the Barreiras System, widely used both for human supply in Maceió city as well as for local industries water supply. The results showed a correlation between increased soil sealing and hydrological implications. It was found from the results of multi-temporal analysis of surface soil cover, the advance of the urbanization process in the basin caused a significant effect on the hydrological system of the region. The hydrological models applications proved that the occupation process decreased time of flow concentration, which consequently increased the speed and volume disposed, and decreased infiltration capacity and recharge aquifers.