| The alluvial aquifers in the southern region of Puerto Rico have been important sources of water for domestic, agricultural and industrial activities since the early stages of the last century. In recent decades the socioeconomic development of Puerto Rico's southern region has promoted a growth in population, resulting in increased demand for the extraction of groundwater to support diverse activities that compete intensively for the use of available water resources.;The Department of Natural and Environmental Resources of Puerto Rico (PR DRNA) has declared the south coast aquifers as critical areas, including the Santa Isabel and Salinas municipalities, in order to facilitate the adoption of special rules to address and remediate the problems of excessive extraction, pollution and saline intrusion that may be taking place in the aquifers.;In this research a series of maps from in the 1970s until 2015 was developed using the QGIS geographic information system application. The maps illustrate changes in land use and land cover over the aquifer in southern Puerto Rico, some 145 km2 in Santa Isabel and Salinas, identifying the diverse land uses, their magnitudes and their impacts on the aquifer.;Other maps developed for Santa Isabel and Salinas include maps of soil classification and saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat), which measures the capacity of the soil to recharge the aquifer.;The historical map data was used to correlate changes in land use and land cover and historical (average) temperatures and precipitation of the area with historical water level data from USGS observation wells. The maps created also were used to correlate the hydraulic potential of the land with the changes in land use and land cover data, among other parameters.;This research demonstrates a correlation between urban development and groundwater mean level below the land (i.e., that increased urbanization was correlated with decreased groundwater availability), and offers visual and current information that can be used as a precursor for education and as a mechanism to guide protection of water and land resources. |
