The Impact of a Lack of Government Strategies for Sustainable Water Management and Land Use Planning on the Hydrology of Water Bodies: Lessons Learned from the Disappearance of the Aculeo Lagoon in Central Chile

Rodrigo Valdés-Pineda, Pablo A. Garcia-Chevesich, Alberto J. Alaniz, Héctor L. Venegas-Quiñones, Juan B. Valdés and Roberto Pizarro
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Rodrigo Valdés-Pineda: Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
Pablo A. Garcia-Chevesich: Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
Alberto J. Alaniz: Department of Geographic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Santiago (USACH), Santiago, Chile
Héctor L. Venegas-Quiñones: Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
Juan B. Valdés: Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
Roberto Pizarro: Cátedra Unesco en Hidrología de Superficie, University of Talca, Mailbox 747, Avenida Lircay s/n, Talca 3460000, Chile

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-33

Abstract: Several studies have focused on why the Aculeo Lagoon in central Chile disappeared, with a recent one concluding that a lack of precipitation was the main cause, bringing tremendous political consequences as it supported the argument that the government is not responsible for this environmental, economic, and social disaster. In this study, we evaluated in detail the socio-economic history of the watershed, the past climate and its effects on the lagoon’s water levels (including precipitation recycling effects), anthropogenic modifications to the lagoon’s water balance, the evolution of water rights and demands, and inaccurate estimates of sustainable groundwater extraction volumes from regional aquifers. This analysis has revealed novel and undisputable evidence that this natural body of water disappeared primarily because of anthropogenic factors (mostly river deviations and aquifer pumping) that, combined with the effects of less than a decade with below-normal precipitation, had a severe impact on this natural lagoon–aquifer system.

Keywords: lake hydrology; central Chile; Aculeo; Mediterranean climates; land use planning; water management; anthropogenic effects; sustainable water resources management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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