CANADA-BRAZIL COOPERATION
COOPERAÇÃO BRASIL-CANADÁ

The technical activities carried out under PROASNE are aimed primarily at building the capacity of Brazilian institutions in the area of groundwater exploration and management.  The underlying objective is to introduce and adapt technologies and methods that will improve access to potable water and ensure long-term sustainability of the rural communities, especially in periods of drought. 

The technology is transferred  mostly by specialized Canadian private sector firms to federal and state water management institutions and universities in northeast Brazil. About a dozen Canadian firms and some 15 Brazilian institutions had taken part in the program at the time of writing (mid-2003).  The Canadian Government, through NRCan's Earth Sciences Sector, plays mostly a project management and coordinating role although it has provided technical expertise in some areas. Technology transfer is done in various ways including workshops, seminars and short courses in Brazil, technical visits and training in Canada, and by carrying out joint pilot scale projects. The following is a brief summary of each of the technical areas that have been part of the project to date.

Ground Geophysics : The first technology transfer activity of the project was a 3-week ground electromagnetic (EM) geophysical training program delivered by Canadian consultant Komex International Ltd.  The program included a workshop in the city of Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, and field work in the three participating states. The main purpose was: (1) To improve the capacity of local institutions to use ground geophysics (EM-34) to investigate factors that affect the groundwater supply (e.g. location of aquifers, water quality, flow rate, etc.) in selected areas of northeastern Brazil; (2) To help select pilot areas for the proposed groundwater mapping surveys by airborne geophysics, and to organize the collection of ground orientation data that will be needed for interpreting the airborne survey data; and (3) To help plan the geophysical component of PROASNE by recommending additional activities in which Canadian technologies and specialists may have an input. Various reports, in English and in Portuguese, as well as a series of photographs taken during the mission, can be accessed by following the link "Ground Geophysics".  Ground electromagnetic techniques were used subsequently by the Brazilians mostly to follow-up the results of the airborne geophysical surveys. 

Airborne Geophysics: One of the project’s original objectives was to identify, adapt, test and recommend techniques to improve the success rate of drilling productive water wells in the semi-arid, crystalline bedrock that characterizes about 80% of the million km² of NE-Brazil. The results obtained from three pilot scale helicopter-borne magnetic/electromagnetic (HEM) surveys flown in 2001 by FUGRO Airborne Surveys Ltd. show that the technique has the capability of mapping water-bearing fractures in the region, providing a reliable means to locate drill sites. The reason is that groundwater in the crystalline rocks of NE-Brazil is slightly saline, and behaves as conductor in an induced electromagnetic field.  The technique also provides the means to map the structure of large areas quickly, thus permitting the development of groundwater resources over an entire region rather than limiting the searches to within the boundaries of villages.  Such an expansion in the surface area to be developed, will require a new approach to water resource management which PROASNE is developing using Canadian solar energy technology (see Solar Energy and Groundwater Management below). The link "Airborne Geophysics" provides access to survey specifications, results from the three pilot areas including maps, and various reports in English and Portuguese.   

Hydrogeology: This activity has been conducted mostly by PROASNE's Brazilian partners as part of CPRM's three-year plan to study the ground and surface waters of the northeast of Brazil.  Much emphasis has been placed to date on inventorying wells and characterizing their waters. Hydrological mapping and detailed hydrogeological research projects are also being carried out by the Brazilians, mostly to support PROASNE's activities in the pilot areas. Canadians have not taken part directly in the inventorying and mapping/research activities, but are contributing indirectly through the development of tools that will assist the Brazilians in their work.  The development of the SIAGAS database system, the remote sensing/GIS and groundwater modeling projects are amongst those techniques being developed by PROASNE that are indirectly assisting the Brazilians in their hydrogeological activities. The link "Hydrogeology" provides access to papers on this topic (in Portuguese with English abstracts).

Solar Energy: Canadian firm Sunmotor International of Calgary was contracted to adapt its specially designed d.c. motors to a line of Brazilian submersible pumps making them highly efficient when powered with energy generated by photovoltaic cells.  This motor/pump combination permits long-distance pumping with relatively low energy requirements. Another highly efficient motor/pump combination, developed by Sunmotor, will be used to operate reverse osmosis desalinization equipment using solar energy.  An experimental station to demonstrate these technologies was built in a small rural community in the state of Ceará. The station was inaugurated in November 2001 by the President of CIDA, Len Good, and was visited by the Minister for International Cooperation, Susan Whelan, in March 2002.  The station, which currently serves some 22 families, is attracting a great deal of attention amongst water managers in Brazil because, of the hundreds of reverse osmosis desalinization plants currently in operation in NE-Brazil, this is the only one that is being powered by solar energy. The link "Solar Energy" provides access to a description of the project, the consultant's reports, a short article published by the Canadian Solar Industries Association, and other items.  

Remote Sensing and GIS: PROASNE is transferring technology in remote sensing and GIS, including the use of Radarsat as a groundwater mapping and development tool. Two Brazilians from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN) were trained in 2001 by Infotierra of Sherbrooke, Quebec.  Remote sensing specialists from GSC and Infotierra joined forces with geophysicists from Fugro Airborne Surveys of Toronto to deliver a workshop on Remote Sensing and Geophysics in Groundwater Exploration and Management in Natal in April 2002. One more session of remote sensing and GIS is being organized at the time of writing and will take place in Recife and Fortaleza in the latter part of 2003. It will focus on spectral analyses techniques and geostatistics using data and images from the pilot areas in Ceará and Pernambuco.  The link "Remote Sensing and GIS" provides access to the original proposal from UFRN, the Consultant's progress and final reports, and research papers in English and Portuguese.   

Groundwater Modeling: The 20% of NE-Brazil that is not underlain by Precambrian crystalline bedrock contains sedimentary aquifers that hold much of the region’s fresh groundwater reserves, but are often overexploited and can become contaminated due to poor management caused by a lack of research data about their hydrologic potential and vulnerability.  In an effort to improve groundwater management of one of the most important sedimentary aquifers of the region, the Açu aquifer in Rio Grande do Norte, a groundwater modeling pilot study was carried out by Waterloo Hydrogeologic Inc. in collaboration with local partners CAERN, SERHID and the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), in an effort to establish a safe and sustainable exploitation regime for this aquifer.  The work included a 10-week training program for two Brazilian technicians in Canada. The final report shows that the aquifer is in no danger at the current level of exploitation, and in fact could sustain a much higher yield. This knowledge will allow the authorities to take full advantage of the resource which will undoubtedly bring economic benefits to the region.  The link "Groundwater Modelling" provides access to a brief project description, the detailed proposal, progress and final reports, and other items of interest. 

Groundwater Information System: Groundwater management in NE-Brazil is hampered by the fact that there is a multitude of government and private organizations that collect well and water quality data, but the data held by one organization is rarely accessible or transferable to the others due to the non-standard formats of the various databases.  The firm Waterloo Hydrogeologic Inc. (WHI) was contracted to develop standards and create an easily accessible, user friendly, web-based, data entry, storage and retrieval interface that will allow merger of existing datasets, the entry of new data as they are produced, and to query and retrieve data quickly and efficiently.  The system will also be enhanced with a variety of visualization and interpretation tools accessible through the Internet.  Once in place, Brazil will have a state-of-the-art system comparable to the best in the world. The link "Groundwater Information System" gives a detailed description of this product, which is being developed jointly by WHI and CPRM, and a link to the central databank known as SIAGAS, located on the CPRM server in Rio de Janeiro. 

Research on Groundwater Salinity: A joint project involving the University of Waterloo and the Federal University of Ceará. The purpose of this project is to understand the causes of groundwater salinity, how it varies spatially, and which factors are responsible for this variation. We anticipate that such knowledge will facilitate exploration for better quality water in the region, reduce cost and provide better quality water to the communities.   A workshop on isotope geochemistry and the initial field trip to get personnel acquainted with the field area, community problems caused by high salinity of the groundwater, and to establish an appropriate workplan for the project was conducted in June 2001. In the long term, this project will include training personnel in Brazil and/or in Canada, analytical work in the labs of both universities, and meetings to present and discuss results. The link "Research on Groundwater Salinity" gives access to a preliminary report by the Canadian contractor (in pdf). 

Artificial Recharge - Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR): This technology consists of taking surface water from reservoirs and storing it underground in aquifers to protect it from evaporation and contamination. Usually, ASR is done in porous sedimentary rocks, but in the present case, the objective was to store the water in stimulated fractures in the crystalline Precambrian bedrock.  At the initial meeting in June 2001, the Canadian partner, CH2M Hill, explained the technology and proceeded to identify serious partners amongst the state-owned waterworks companies to initiate the first phase of the project, a pre-feasibility study. It soon became clear, however, that for this project to be viable, will require targeting a large population centre because of the relatively important investment needed to carry out the project.  The small rural communities, which are the prime focus of PROASNE, were not suitable candidates for this technology.  Then, the possibility of using a less costly artificial recharge methodology, one that would have been appropriate for rural areas, was examined. The search for such an alternative continues.  Although PROASNE did not go forward with the ASR technology, the preliminary discussions with CH2M specialists allowed the Brazilian partners to understand the technology, its advantages and disadvantages.  The link "Artificial Recharge" provides access to a preliminary report by the contractor CH2M Hill, and a brochure with information on the ASR technology.  

Groundwater Management: Airborne geophysics (see above) has the potential to contribute more than targets for the well drillers.  It is our belief that, by providing systematic blanket coverage of an area, this technology will "open up" the territory and encourage groundwater exploration and development of the entire region, not just of the areas within close proximity to the communities.  This is a new groundwater management approach proposed by PROASNE which will entail extending the coverage of airborne geophysics to a substantial portion of the Northeast, and drilling strategic wells at locations that are chosen on the basis of the geophysics rather than the distance from the consumers. It is clear that such an expansion in the surface area to be developed will require cost effective means of bringing the water from distant sources to the consumers.  Solar power can be used to pump the groundwater vertically from the well and horizontally through a system of pipelines at sites that are not electrified by the conventional grid.  The water could either be treated (desalinized) at the well site using solar power, or at the village or farm at the end of the pipeline. Pumping rates can easily be adjusted to the demand.  Excess water from highly productive wells could be used to support agricultural activity near the well. This new approach to groundwater management should significantly increase the amount of  probable water reserves and generate more stability in the long-term water supply, even during periods of drought. The link "Groundwater Management" provides access to a paper and an illustrated sheet that describe the new groundwater management approach being proposed by PROASNE.

Ecological Studies: Amongst PROASNE's partners are institutions that are concerned with the preservation of the environment.  They joined the project hoping to develop new skills in relevant technologies, and to test these techniques in small-scale projects within PROASNE's pilot areas.  Among the technologies that were sought by these partners were land use investigation and environmental impact assessment techniques, sustainable development approaches, etc.  Although the transfer of Canadian technologies in these areas was rather limited, the pilot projects were conducted producing, in some cases, remarkable results. The link "Ecological Studies" provides access to a comprehensive report (pdf in Portuguese) by CPRH, a PROASNE partner that carried out such a project in Pernambuco.

 last modified: 2004-09-04

Airborne Geophysics and Groundwater Management in Semi-Arid NE-Brazil

Fractures containing slightly saline groundwater  are clearly detected by the airborne EM survey over the crystalline rocks of Ceará in NE-Brazil, and appear as lineaments on the survey maps.  This technique may hold the solution to the shortage of water in times of drought in that region.