Hydrogeological characterization and assessment of groundwater resource potentialities for drinking purposes of minor high-altitude springs in Central Apennines (Southern Abruzzi region

Drinking-water supply in high altitude villages in central Apennines is ensured by springs with a limited and seasonal discharge. These allow villages self-sufficiency with some summer deficit in water availability. In the southern portion of the Abruzzo region’s mountain area, many tapped springs for drinking purpose can be found, which are located at altitude higher than 1000 m, but their exploitation is still limited because of the managing companies’ exploitation and distribution strategies. In fact, investing in springs or well fields with major potentials is preferred, even if they are located at lower altitudes and therefore more energetically demanding for water distribution. In this work, peculiarities, potential and residual capabilities of these aquifers have been pointed out and described. The structural framework is singular: tectonic relationships between formations occur mainly through faults and low angle thrusts, which put in contact terrigenous lithologies with different permeability, within the so-called "coltre molisana", with the mainly carbonatic succession of the central Apennines and the Sicilidi calcareous-clayey one (Festa et al., 2014; Ghisetti and Vezzani,1998). The complex stratigraphic and tectonic relations between these formations allow groundwater to emerge as springs, which are mainly classified as “for permeability limit” (Civita, 1973). The aquifer is usually represented by the calcareous hydrogeological complex of the coltre molisana or by the Apennines limestone formations, while the clayey complex of the Sicilidi or the coltre molisana serves as aquiclude. Sometimes, the coarse slope deposits serve as aquifers, too: they come from carbonate deposits located at higher altitude, and lie over impervious complex. The first results about groundwater potentialities of these high-altitude springs, obtained through infiltration coefficient, show recharge volumes of about 100 Mm3, over a 615 Km2-wide area