ESTIMATION OF GROUNDWATER BALANCE AND SAFE YIELD

OF POROUS AQUIFER IN THE ANTHEMOUNTAS BASIN

AND PERAIA’S COASTAL AREA

KAZAKIS N.

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Department of Geology, Laboratory of Engineering

Geology and Hydrogeology, 54124, Thessaloniki, Greece, kazakis@geo.auth.gr

Keywords: Hydrological balance, Specific yield, Overexploitation, GIS.

Abstract
The aim of this study is to estimate the hydrological balance, the groundwater balance and the
safe yield of porous aquifer in the Anthemountas basin and Peraia’s costal area. The study area
is located in north Greece and covers an area of 374 Km2. Porous aquifer is of utmost impor-
tance in the study area as they contain larger quantities of groundwater reserves than the karstic
and fissured rock aquifers. They cover an area of 180 Km2 and are developed mainly in the low-
lands with mean thickness of 150 m in the western part and 60 m in the eastern part. The hydro-
logical balance was estimated for the three hydrological years 2008-2009, 2009-2010 and 2010-
2011 and for the whole period (2008-2011) in total. For the period 2008-2011 the correlation
analysis has revealed that rainfall increases with the altitude every 100m by 23mm, whereas the
evapotranspiration decreases 1.5% per 100m. The mean precipitation for the period 2008-2011
was estimated 195.5×106 m3 of which 71.7% corresponds to evapotranspiration, 13.8% to infil-
tration and 14.5% to runoff. The total outflow of the porous aquifer was calculated 56.87×106
m3, the inflow of the aquifer was calculated 38.71×106 m3 and reveals the negative groundwater
balance of 18×106 m3. The safe yield of porous aquifer is calculated to be 24.88×106 m3. The
artificial recharge, the change of irrigation methods, the utilization of the treated wastewaters
and the exploitation of fissured rock aquifers are proposed in order to reverse the shrinkage of
water quantities of porous aquifer.

1. Introduction
The hydrological balance of a basin constitutes the most important tool for rational water man-
agement and the ensurance of groundwater sustainability. The quantities of the precipitation,
evapotranspiration, runoff and infiltration can indirectly determine the exploitable amounts of
water. Precipitation varies in hydrological years and modulates dry and wet years due to the
specific climate conditions of each region and year. During last decades many climatic models
have been utilized to predict a worldwide climatic change with an increase in the mean air tem-
perature and simultaneously a decrease in precipitation (McAvaney et al. 2001; Albritton et al.
2001). In Greece, in particular, a large number of scientific works have predicted a decrease in
precipitation in the next years (Tolika et al. 2008; Kapsomenakis et al. 2011). The reliability of
these models will be verified during the referred periods by measuring of the precipitation and
temperature. The hydrological balance update of a basin can be used for the verification and the
feedback of hydrological and climatological models and water management strategic plans.
Considering that groundwater is the main water supply source in several regions of Greece it is
also important to estimate the groundwater balance and the safe yield of the aquifer. The safe
yield of an aquifer can be used to determine the pumping limits of the aquifer (Sakiyan &
Yazicigil 2004) in order to attain balance between inflow and outflow of the aquifer (Voudouris
2006). In the Anthemountas basin and the coastal area of Peraia the water demands are met with
exclusively by groundwater and the largest amounts are exploited by porous aquifer (Nagoulis
and Loupasakis 2001; Koumantakis et al. 2008; Voudouris and Kazakis 2011). Overexploitation
in the coastal area of the basin has caused the decrease in the water table (Fikos et al. 2003) and
an inversion of the flow from the sea towards the mainland (Kazakis et al. 2013). The aim of

10th International Hydrogeological Congress of Greece / Thessaloniki, 2014 305

this study is to estimate the groundwater balance and the safe yield of porous aquifer in the An-
themountas basin and Peraia’s costal area. Furthermore, the estimation of hydrological balance
for the period of 2008-2011 was obtained in order to update previous studies of the hydrological
balance of the basin.

2. Study area
The study area is located in north Greece and comprises the hydrological basin of Anthemoun-
tas and the coastal area of Peraia and covers an area of 374 Km2 (Figure 1). The coalescence of
the two areas was based on the fact that the coastal aquifer extends in both of them. The area
possess Mediterranean Climate Type (Balafoutis 1977), and is characterized by mild and wet
winters and hot and dry summers. The water demands in the dry period are higher than in the
wet period due to the increase in population of seaside towns and the high percentage which is
also motivated with crops cultivation. As a result, the abundant amount of surface water of the
dry period ends up in the sea and the dry period water demands are exclusively met with
groundwater. Porous aquifer is of utmost importance in the study area as it contains larger quan-
tities of groundwater reserves than the karstic and fissured rock aquifers. They cover an area of
180 Km2 and are developed mainly in the lowlands with mean thickness of 150 m and 60 m in
the western and eastern part respectively. The hydraulic conductivity values range between
1.5×10-6 m/s and 5×10-6 m/s, storativity (S) varies from 10-4 to 3×10-1, the specific capacity
ranges between 2–270 m2/h and the effective porosity varies from 15% to 26% (Kazakis et al.
2013).

Figure 1. Study area and meteorological stations.

3. Materials and methods

3.1 Hydrological balance estimation
The rainfall and temperature data were analyzed by using data of nine meteorological stations
which are with different altitudes of the wider area (Figure 1). The meteorological stations
namely, Mikra Ktima, Chortiati and Polygyro with altitudes of 4, 11, 570 and 580 m were used
to estimate the precipitation and temperature distribution in the study area because of the com-
pleteness of the data for the period 2008-2011. The correlation analysis was performed to esti-
mate the rainfall-altitude relationship in order to allocate precipitation and calculate its quantity
in the study area.
The evapotranspiration was calculated with the Thornthwaite method (Thornthwaite & Mather
1957). The potential evapotranspiration (Ep) is calculated from the equation 1, and the annual

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heat index (I) with the equation 2 and Į coefficient is given in equation 3. The relationship be-
tween evapotranspiration-altitude was calculated applying correlation analysis in order to allo-
cate and calculate the evapotranspiration quantity.
D 1.514
§ 7· 12
§7·
( p 1.6 ˜ ¨10 ˜ ¸ (1), , ¦ ¨ ¸ (2), D 0.49239 1792˜10 ˜,  771˜,  675˜10 ˜, (3)
5 2 9 3

© ,¹ L 1©5¹

T: is the monthly temperature.

The amounts of infiltration were calculated from precipitation and Bibliographical infiltration
coefficients for each geological formation (Table 1). The runoff (R) was calculated from the
formula 4 with subtraction of infiltration and evapotranspiration from precipitation.
R = P – Ep – I (4)
P: Precipitation, Ep: Evapotanspiration, I: Infiltration, R: Runoff
The allocation of each parameter was performed using the digital elevation model of the study
area, the respective equation and the raster calculator tool from the spatial analyst toolbox of
ArcGIS.

Table 1. Infiltration coefficients from the general geological formation of Anthemountas basin
(Soulios 1986, Voudouris 2013)
Geological formation Infiltration coefficient
Quaternary deposits 0.15 – 0.20
Neogene sediments 0.12 – 0.22
Crystalline rocks 0.06 – 0.10
Carbonate rocks 0.3 – 0.55

3.2 Groundwater balance

The groundwater balance was calculated for the porous aquifer of the basin with the brief equa-
tion 5 (Voudouris 2006), in which (Ȉin) and (Ȉout) represent the inflow and outflow of the aq-
uifer and (DS) the change in the groundwater reserves according to the water level change be-
tween two hydrological years (Naik & Awasthi 2003; Voudouris 2006).
™in = ™out ± DS (5)
The outflow (Equation 6) of the aquifer consists of the domestic water uses (W1), the irrigation
and industrial (W2) water uses, the livestock consumption (W3) and the subsurface outflow
(W4), whereas the groundwater evaporation and/or transpiration were considered insignificant.
™out = W1+W2+ W3+ W4 (6)
W1: The domestic water uses were calculated for the dry and wet period with the equation 7.
The calculations were performed for each town/village of the study area with the data from the
National Statistical Service of Greece (Table 2). Based on the local authorities and recent stud-
ies (Voudouris and Kazakis 2011) the population increases 70% in the seaside towns of Peraia,
Neoi Epivates and Agia Triada.
W1= ( P×Q×D)winter+( P×Q×D)summer (7)
P: population increased 70% in summer, Q: water consumption; 200 L/d for winter and 250L/d
for summer period.
Table 2. Population of the study area (2001)
Municipality Population (2001)
Thermaikos 20253
Thermi 32691
Galatista, Galarinos 3273

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W2: Irrigation lasts for 5 months from May to October. The total amounts of irrigation (W2)
were calculated according to the yearly water requirements of each crop type and their area
(equation 8). The areas of the crops were taken from the National Statistical Service of Greece
and field investigation, whereas the water requirement for the crops was based on the data from
the Ministry of Agriculture of Greece (Table 3). The water demands for industrial use were es-
timated by the declared yield of their wells from the water use license.
W2=™ E×Qc (8)
E: area of crop, Qc: water demands per crop type.
Table 3. Crop types and water requirements in the study area
Crop type Area (Km2) Mean water requirements (mm)
Wheat 76.8 0*
Groves 11.8 507
Vines 12.5 507
Cotton 11.8 600
Corn 10.3 691.5
Clover 3.5 691.5
Vegetables 18.1 643.5
* In the study area the water demands of the wheat crops are met with rain.

W3: The livestock consumption was calculated with the equation 9. The number of each animal
was taken from the National Statistical Service of Greece and the consumption of each species
was based on the Greek legislation (Table 4).
W3=™ N×Qp (9)
N: number of animals, Qc: water demands per animal per year.

Table 4. Number of animals per type in the study area and total water consumption per year
Animal Number Water consumption (m3/d)
Cattle 2716 0.08
Sheep 19735 0.008
Goats 56788 0.008
Pigs 1120 0.08
Horses 35 0.036
Rabbits 867 0.004
Hens 481316 0.002

W4: The Subsurface outflow was estimated by using Darcy’s velocity and the boundary outflow
surface of the aquifer (Figure 2). The hydraulic and geometrical characteristics of the aquifer
were used from previous studies (Kazakis et al. 2013), whereas groundwater velocity was calcu-
lated with ArcGIS software with the package of Spatial Analyst Tools and Groundwater-Darcy
Velocity model.
W5= v×Eaq (10)
v: groundwater velocity, Eaq: Boundary outflow surface of the aquifer.
The inflow (Equation 11) of the aquifer includes the recharge from rainfall (W1), the lateral sub-
surface inflow from neighboring porous aquifers and the karstic and fissured rock aquifers of the
Anthemountas basin (W6), the streambed infiltration (W7) and the returns from irrigation (W8).
™in = W5+W6+W7+W8 (11)

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W5: The rainfall recharge was calculated according to the infiltration coefficients (Table 1) and
the rainfall map of the study area for the porous aquifer area. W6: The lateral subsurface inflow
was calculated with the equation (10) replacing the parameter Eaq with Eaqin (Boundary inflow
surface of the aquifer) and Darcy’s velocity in the boundary of the porous aquifer with karstic
and fissured rock aquifers. W7: Based on previous studies (Voudouris 2010) and field investiga-
tion, streambed infiltration was calculated as a percent (10%) of the estimated runoff. W8: Ac-
cording to previous studies (Voudouris 2010) the irrigation returns were calculated as a percent
of the irrigation uses (20%).

Figure 2. Boundary conditions of the porous aquifer and groundwater flow direction.

3.3 Safe yield

The safe yield (Say) was estimated with the equation (12) of Naik and Awasthi (2003), the
exploitable dynamic of the aquifer (Qed) and the specific yield (Sy) with the equations 13 and 14
respectively (Goes 1999). The average water level decline was calculated by using the
piezometric maps of the dry and wet period with the use of GIS (Figure 3).
Say = Qed+W1w+W8 (12)
Qed= Sy×ǻhd×A (13)
Sy=(R-W10-W7w )/(ǻhw×A) (14)

Figure 3. Groundwater level decline of the porous aquifer (wet and dry period of 2010).

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Say: The safe yield of the aquifer (m3), Qed: the exploitable dynamic of the aquifer (m3), W1w:
the domestic uses of the rainy season (m3), Sy: the specific yield (%), ǻhd: the average water
level (m) decline in the dry period (May-October), A: the recharge area of the aquifer (m2), R:
the recharge (m3) in the wet period (November-April), W10: the groundwater abstractions during
the wet period (m3), W7w: the lateral subsurface outflow in wet period (m3), ǻhw: the average
water level uprise during wet period (m).

4. Results and discussion

4.1 Hydrological balance
The hydrological balance was estimated for the three hydrological years 2008-2009, 2009-2010
and 2010-2011 and for the whole period (2008-2011) in total. For the period 2008-2011 the cor-
relation analysis has revealed that rainfall increases every 100m by 23mm (equation 15),
whereas the evapotranspiration decreases 1.5% per 100m (equation 16).
P(mm) = 0.23 × H(m) + 462.9 (period 2008-2011) (15)
Ǽʌ (%) = -0.015 × H(m) + 75.89 (period 2008-2011) (16)
The distribution of the precipitation and evapotranspiration for each hydrological year was
based on the respective equation and the quantities were calculated with GIS and the finally
raster maps were produced.. The mean annual precipitation of the Mika station for the period
1965-2011 and 2008-2011 is 451.3 and 444.4mm indicates that the observed period is represen-
tative for the study area. The precipitation varies from 462.8 mm in the coastal area to 741.1
mm on the top of Chortiatis mountain (period 2008-2011) (Figure 4). Evapotranspiration varies
from 351.2 to 429.1 mm in the coastal and mountainous area respectively for the period 2008-
2011 (Figure 5). Infiltration ranges from 22mm in the rocks with low permeability to 316mm in
the carbonate rocks (Figure 6), whereas the runoff is up to 259.7 mm in the rocks with low per-
meability for the period 2008-2011 (Figure 7).
The highest amount of precipitation is observed in the period 2009-2010 (212.5×106 m3),
whereas for the period 2008-2011 it was calculated 195.5×106 m3. The mean evapotranspiration
of the study area was estimated 71.7%, the infiltration 26.9×106 m3 and total run off 28.3×106 m3
for the period 2008-2011 (Table 5). The warmest hydrological year was 2008-2009 because of
the lowest precipitation and the highest evapotranspiration. The most beneficial hydrological
year for the recovery of groundwater reserves was the hydrological year of 2009-2010 due to
the highest amount of infiltration (28.7×106 m3) in combination with the lowest evapotranspira-
tion (69.5×106 m3).

Figure 4. Distribution of the mean annual precipitation for the period 2008-2011.

310 10th International Hydrogeological Congress of Greece / Thessaloniki, 2014

 Table 5. Hydrological balance of Anthemountas basin for the period 2008-2011
Hydrological Year P Eʌ I R Units
458.4 332.8 63.2 62.4 mm
2008-2009 171.6 124.6 23.6 23.3 × 106 m3
100 72.6 13.8 13.6 %
567.7 394.7 76.8 96.3 mm
2009-2010 212.5 147.7 28.7 36 × 106 m3
100 69.5 13.5 17.0 %
540.1 390.5 75.8 73.9 mm
2010-2011 202.2 146.2 28.3 27.6 × 106 m3
100 72.3 14.0 13.7 %
522.1 374.5 71.9 75.7 mm
2008-2011 195.5 140.2 26.9 28.3 × 106 m3
100 71.7 13.8 14.5 %

Figure 5. Distribution of the mean annual evapotranspiration for the period 2008-2011.

Figure 6. Distribution of the mean annual infiltration for the period 2008-2011.

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 Figure 7. Distribution of the mean annual infiltration for the period 2008-2011.

4.2 Groundwater balance

The groundwater balance was estimated for the porous aquifer of the study area (2009-2010).
The porous aquifer cover an area of 180 Km2 and recharge direct from rainfall infiltration, the
percolation from the torrents and rivers and the lateral subsurface inflow from the aquifers of
the fissured rocks and the karstic aquifer. The water demands are covered by the exploitation of
the porous aquifer through a large number of production wells. The total outflow of the porous
aquifer was calculated 56.87×106 m3. Analytically the permanent population of the study area is
about 56,000 people (Table 2) and the total abstractions for domestic use (W1) were calculated
7.7×106 m3. The crops occupy 40% of their area and the water demands were calculated 40.5×
106 m3 and consume the largest amount of groundwater in the basin. Industrial and livestock
water uses were calculated 1.8×106 and 0.37×106 m3 respectively. Finally, the outflow is sup-
plemented with the subsurface outflow which was calculated 6.5×106 m3. In contrast, the inflow
of the aquifer was calculated 38.71×106 m3 and reveals the negative groundwater balance of 18
× 106 m3(Figure 8). The highest amounts of inflow are from rainfall recharge (15×106 m3) and
the lowest are from the streambed infiltration (2.25×106 m3). The subsurface inflow and irriga-
tion returns were calculated 13 and 8.46×106 m3. In the last decade the negative groundwater
balance has affected the water table with a mean dropdown of 0.5m per year as is shown in the
water level fluctuation of the well G124 (Figure 9).

50
42.3
106 m3

Outflow 56.87
106 m3

40 Inflow 38.71
106 m3


Water consumpion

30

20 15
13
7.7 8.46
10 6.5
2.25
0.37
0
Domestic use Agricultural Livestock use Subsurface Recharge due Subsurface Streambed Irrigation
and industry outflow to rainfall inflow infiltration return
abstractions

Figure 8. Outflow and Inflow of the porous aquifer of the study area.

312 10th International Hydrogeological Congress of Greece / Thessaloniki, 2014

 Figure 9. Water level fluctuation during the period 1993-2014 of the well G124.

4.3 Safe yield

The estimation of the safe yield (Say) presupposes the calculation of the specific yield (Sy) and
the exploitable dynamic of the aquifer (Qed). The specific yield was calculated 2.78% and the
exploitable dynamic of the aquifer 14×106 m3. More specifically the recharge area (A) of the
porous aquifer is 180 Km2, the average water level rise (ǻhw) and the recharge (R) in wet period
was calculated 2.3m and 14.5×106 m3 respectively, the groundwater abstractions (W10) and the
lateral subsurface outflow (W7w) during the wet period was calculated 0.25 and 3.25 × 106 m3
correspondingly. The average water level decline (ǻhd) and the domestic uses (W1w) in the dry
period were calculated 2.8 m and 2.4 × 106 m3. The irrigation returns (W8) has been defined ear-
lier. Based on the previous parameters the safe yield of porous aquifer is calculated to be
24.88×106 m3.
From the groundwater balance and the safe yield estimation the overexploitation of the porous
aquifer of the study area is obvious. The overexploitation is depicted on the dropdown of water
table in the wells of the study area in the last decades. To reverse the shrinkage of water quanti-
ties of porous aquifer it is necessary to decrease the abstractions and reinforce the rainfall re-
charge with artificial recharge. The change of irrigation methods and the utilization of the
treated wastewaters for irrigation would decrease the agriculture abstractions. Furthermore, the
exploitation of fissured rock aquifers might ensure the necessary quantities to cover a significant
part of the water demands.

5. Conclusions
In the study area the mean precipitation for the period 2008-2011 was estimated 195.5 × 106 m3 of
which 71.7% corresponds to evapotranspiration, 13.8% to infiltration and 14.5% to runoff. For
this period that rainfall increases every 100m by 23mm, whereas the evapotranspiration decreases
1.5% per 100m. The estimation of the groundwater balance of the porous aquifer has revealed that
inflow is significant lower than the outflow by 18 × 106 m3. The largest amount of groundwater in
the basin is consumed for the agriculture use (40.5×106 m3). The highest amounts of inflow are
from rainfall recharge (15 × 106 m3) and the lowest are from the streambed infiltration (2.25×106
m3). The safe yield of porous aquifer is calculated to be 24.88×106 m3. The overexploitation of
groundwater in the Anthemountas basin and Peraia’s coastal area is depicted in the continuous
decline of water table and the negative groundwater balance. To reverse the shrinkage of water
quantities of the porous aquifer is necessary the reinforcement of inflow and the simultaneous de-
crease in the outflow. The artificial recharge, the change of irrigation methods, the utilization of
the treated wastewaters and the exploitation of fissured rock aquifers are proposed in order to bal-
ance the outflow and inflow of the groundwater of the porous aquifer.

10th International Hydrogeological Congress of Greece / Thessaloniki, 2014 313

6. Acknowledgements
This scientific work was carried out within the framework of PhD thesis of Nerantzis Kazakis
and financially supported by the STATE SCHOLARSHIPS FOUNDATION OF GREECE
(IKY). Heartfelt thanks to Assistant Professor K. Voudouris for the comments and remarks
which were very helpful to consummate this scientific work.

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