ABSTRACT
The exploitation and protection of thermal water requires an understanding of the local thermal systems. It is important to know a sustainable abstraction rate that will not impact the quality of the resource. In the area around Dax (SW France), there are several hot springs. The groundwater comes from the Senonian fissured/karstified dolomitic aquifer, which has a sub-vertical dip as it lies on the flank of a salt diapir. In order to create a management tool for the water resource, nested models were developed to simulate the local impact of the withdrawals from all of the thermal wells. The overall capture zone was mapped using the flow paths induced by the wells. The models can be used as predictive tools to simulate future impact on the resource and to manage risk in terms of quantity and quality.
