Protection Zones for Groundwater Abstractions Used for Drinking Water Supply in Mountain Regions: A Case Study of Covilhã (Portugal)

The present research is a contribution to the delineation of well head protection zones in highland areas in order to prevent groundwater contamination and guarantee public water supply sustainability. Highlands are usually low permeability fractured regions, where groundwater is most commonly abstracted using galleries, drains, sub-horizontal boreholes and springs, which create several constraints to the application of common methodologies for the delineation of well head protection zones. The work is divided in eight different chapters. The first chapter includes the introduction, a brief presentation of the objectives, the framework of the research and the state of the art. The second chapter describes the methodology followed to achieve the objectives. In the third chapter is carried out a characterization of the study area, including details on the geomorphology, geology, hydrogeology and environment. The fourth chapter includes the detailed characterization of the groundwater abstraction points used in the study. In the fifth chapter, the main groundwater hydrochemical characteristics are described. In the sixth chapter, the vulnerability of the groundwater body and the risk of groundwater pollution is evaluated. In the seventh chapter, the methods used for the definition of the well head protection zones are described, as well as the results obtained by using the different methods. The eighth chapter closes this thesis with the presentation of the main conclusions, and the indication of further research perpectives.