Managed aquifer recharge of a karstic aquifer in Nardò, Italy

Main problems in the Salento peninsula are related to the increase of water table depths and to the groundwater salinization due to over abstractions and sea water intrusion, as it is shown in Figure 4.2. At several places of the Salento coastal area the electrical conductivity of the groundwater already exceeds 15,000 ?S/cm. The groundwater flows under low pressure inside karstic fractures and it is affected by withdrawals for drinking and irrigation uses, as explained above. Artificial recharge has been considered in Nardò as a pilot study to counteract saltwater intrusion and overexploitation of the aquifer, and groundwater recharge operations have started in 1991.