Jessy Jaunat

PaPRIKa, the French Multicriteria Method for Mapping the Intrinsic Vulnerability of Karst Water Resource and Source – Two Examples (Pyrenees, Normandy)

PaPRIKa is an updated intrinsic vulnerability mapping method derived from previous specialized works on karst groundwater. It assesses vulnerability by using four criteria: P for Protection (considering the most protective index that results from the combination of Soil cover, Unsaturated zone and Epikarst aquifer), R for Reservoir type, I for Infiltration and Ka for Karstification development. These criteria are chosen based on the structure and functioning of the karst aquifers. PaPRIKa distinguishes source and resource vulnerability, so it constitutes a common basis for hydrogeologists and French administration helping to delineate water catchments protection zones. Two test sites (a Pyrenean karstic system and a chalk karstified aquifer in the Paris basin) are here presented to illustrate its application.

Characterization of the aquifers of the Bangui urban area, Central African Republic, as an alternative drinking water supply resource

Abstract This paper presents the results of a survey carried out in 2010 aimed at evaluating the type and quality of the groundwater resources of the Bangui region of the Central African Republic. This work is the first step towards the development of groundwater resources in the Central African Republic in order to find alternatives to direct pumping from the Ubangi River and provide the population of the suburbs with a safer drinking water supply from deep boreholes. By combining both geological and hydrogeochemical approaches, it appears that the geology of Bangui is favourable to the development of a secure and sustainable water supply from groundwater provided that the conditions of exploitation would be constrained by the local authorities. The deep Precambrian carbonate aquifers, known as the Bimbo and Fatima formations, are identified as target resources in view of the relatively good quality of their water from the chemical point of view, and the semi-confined structure of the aquifers that prevents the mixing with shallow aquifers that are already strongly affected by domestic and industrial pollution. The main difficulty in terms of exploitation is to appreciate the depth of the resource and the more or less fractured/palaeo-karstified type of the porosity. Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz Citation Djebebe-Ndjiguim, C.L., Huneau, F., Denis, A., Foto, E., Moloto-a-Kenguemba, G., Celle-Jeanton, H., Garel, E., Jaunat, J., Mabingui, J., and Le Coustumer, P., 2013. Characterization of the aquifers of the Bangui urban area, Central African Republic, as an alternative drinking water supply resource. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 58 (8), 1760–1778.