Managing groundwater rise: Experimental results and modelling of water pumping from a quarry lake in Milan urban area (Italy)

An innovative approach to solve the problem of lowering water table was carried out in a quarry lake south of the city of Milan (northern Italy): the project, based upon pumping out water at a rate of 1,000 L/s can be considered a strategic medium to long-term solution to hinder the rise of groundwater level interfering with underground structures (foundation, construction, subway) in urban areas. The basic idea is to pump a high groundwater rate as close as possible to the stagnation point of the piezometric depression located in the city. After a pilot-test was carried out in November 1998, experimental activities started in July 2001 and lasted one year; water withdrawal was discharged into artificial channels used in agricultural practice. Maximum drawdowns measured in the quarry lake by the monitoring network resulted in more than 5 m, and a significant drawdown was registered up to 1.5 km of distance from the quarry in the important historical site of Chiaravalle Abbey, threatened by groundwater rise. The results of this pumping activity confirm the importance of the project, its lower cost compared with traditional solutions (such as drainage by wells) and remarkable effects on the improvement of surface water quality. A groundwater model was implemented to evaluate further scenarios of discharge rate and pumping location, too.