First outcomes in the definition of groundwater protection zones at the Viñales National Park (Cuba) and surrounding area

Due to the existence of several pollution hazards in the area and its surroundings, groundwater protection in the Vinales National Park has been defined as a priority task in its management plan for 5 years (2009–2013). Those hazards affect directly the surface waters and the karst nature of the territory allowing the contaminants to enter directly into the aquifers without any or at least small self-depuration processes. In turn, those processes can affect very large areas in a short time. In this paper several results of precedent studies related to the vulnerability, hazards, risk, and the mapping of the spatial variability of natural recharge are integrated in a GIS analysis. The methodology is based on the method of Jimenez-Madrid et al. which is slightly modified in this contribution. The analysis of hydrographs, chemographs, mathematical models and tracer tests is necessary for the definition of a response plan against any contamination events and for model validation, together with the incorporation of data related to the energetic responses from the aquifer systems to external forcing.