Goundwater management; modelling numeric; Tacaratu Aquifer; São José do Belmonte.
Groundwater management is a complex task, given the large number of variables involved in its formulation. In Brazil, the management tools used by managers are still timid. In Pernambuco, the regulatory agency uses the so-called aquifer exploitation zones, when available, to establish the flows granted. These zones are basically established based on the depth of the static levels, which is a very limited way to establish the grant. An efficient management tool has to consider the complexity of the aquifer as a whole, so for good management it is essential to use a numerical model of groundwater flow, so that the grant is made taking into account the hydraulic effects of the pumping granted, providing the manager with the necessary technical basis for his decision-making. The data available for the elaboration of the numerical flow model of the Tacaratu Aquifer, in the São José do Belmonte Sedimentary Basin, allowed satisfactory calibration and validation, as well as the elaboration of scenarios. If the current pumping rate is maintained, the aquifer should dry up in a few years, but if the construction of new wells is stopped from 2030 onwards, without changing the pumped flows, the aquifer would be exhausted around 2130. If the flows are reduced halved and doubled the recharge, the aquifer reserves would slowly recover.