Temporal stability of piezometric levels and salinity in an alluvial valley in the semiarid Pernambuco - Brazil

The restrictions in the use and availability of groundwater in alluvial aquifers of the northeastern semiarid are directly related to seasonal and spatial variability of piezometric levels and salinity. Temporal stability is of high interest for monitoring, allowing representative locations about the studied area to be identified, being an important tool for groundwater resources management. Thus, the objective of this work was to identify areas with temporal stability for the water table level and salinity in an alluvial aquifer in the 'Agreste' region of Pernambuco State in Brazil. The relative difference method was used and also the validation by correlation between the mean response of one stable piezometer against the mean of all other piezometers, performed in time. For the water table level, stable areas representing the mean behavior were identified, while the stable areas for salinity did not represented well the mean behavior, perhaps due to flow restriction, and also due to agricultural soil use.