< Southeastern Europe
Hydrogeological Study of Burizane Aquifer – Sustainable Groundwater Management for Antea plant
The Antea “hydro-drilling” project was initiated in 2007, with the target to de- velop water wells for supplying water to cover the needs of the new Antea cement Plant in Albania. Sustainable groundwater management in Antea plant includes measures related to the operation of the pumping wells in such way to achieve optimum groundwater withdrawal and also to the implementation of a monitoring plan, already incorporated in the plant’s ISO 14001 EMS, consisting of regular monitoring of the level and quality of water in the wells.
Moreover, a Hydrogeological Study was initiated and completed in the period 2010-2011, with main objectives to:
- evaluate the hydraulic characteristics of the Antea cement plant water wells and the possible impact of pumping to thesurrounding overall Burizane aquifer and springs, and
- propose best practices and measures for the sustainable groundwater management.
The Study was based on continuous pumping and systematic water-level measurements in all water wells, covering two “water-seasonal” periods (autumn and spring).
Based on the results of tests and processing of data, it was possible to draw important conclusions with regards to the characteristics of the aquifer. Among else, it was evaluated that the aquifer –formed inside massif, karstic or fractured limestone- is characterized by anisotropy in horizontal dimension and according to a conceptual groundwater flow model. It was also evaluated that the wells may not affect the springs of Burizane, appearing in a cluster to the SW of the plant area. Finally, it was assessed that the annual rate of pumping and water consumption from the Burizane aquifer for the cement plant needs hardly reaches 3% of the total annual potential of the aquifer replenishment. Accordingly, there is no risk of causing any negative effect to groundwater level or the quantity/sufficiency of aquifer.