ABSTRACT
Aware of the need for a sustainable water resources management policy, the Conseil Général of Hérault, together with BRGM and CNRS, is conducting a research project on the hydrogeology of the binary Cent Fonts karst system (60 km2). This aquifer system is partially fed by Buèges river water losses. A methodological approach using hydrographical analysis was previously used to characterize the structure and functioning of the saturated zone and evaluate the respective role of the epikarst and Buèges water losses. The aquifer storage was estimated at 8.6 ± 0.4 million m3. In order to determine the resources available within the system, pumping tests were carried out during the summer of 2005. Since classical analytical solutions cannot effectively reproduce the hydrodynamic behaviour of this system, a specific mathematical model combining a “reservoir” model and an analytical solution for groundwater flow from the surrounding fissured blocks was developed.
