Deep alluvial aquifer system: an example from the Tagliamento River hydrogeological basin (NE Italy)

Over the past decades, the socio-economic development of the investigated area led to a strong increase of water demand for agricultural, industrial and drinking purposes paired with a similar increase of potential pollution sources at the surface. The Friuli- Venezia Giulia Region (northern Italy) is characterised by important water resources, both at the surface and underground. In particular, several artesian aquifer systems exist in the Quaternary deposits of the plain, to a depth of 500 m. The present research is devoted to determining the geometric, hydrogeological and hydrogeochemical characteristics of the underground water resources in the western sector of the Tagliamento River, from the town of Spilimbergo (north) to the delta (south).