Daniel J. Bacchiega,María Cecilia Lopardo,Daniel H. Barrionuevo, Instituto Nacional del Agua, Laboratorio de Hidráulico, mclopardo@gmail.com
Cycles of wetting and drying produces in lowland areas consequences that directly affect their economic activities. The individual analysis of these issues leads, often, to solutions that can be effective for one cycle and counterproductive for the other. In this framework, a comprehensive watershed study allows to define and quantify the major problems, guide the implementation of structural measures and establish guidelines for structural solutions aimed at mitigating both problems. In this paper we analyze the results of a comprehensive study of the watershed property of the pampas of Argentina, where both farming and urban life are affected by alternating cycles of moisture and on. We have evaluated various drought indices allowing to characterize the behavior change and its direct impact on the normal development of activities in the basin.
KEYWORDS: wetting and drought cycles, integral basin studies, Pampa region