Structural geology controls on groundwater flow: Lembang Fault case study, West Java, Indonesia

Field evidence has shown that Lembang Fault (West Java, Indonesia) can act as a groundwater flow barrier. There are outcrops along the footwall comprising consolidated brecciated rock with very low permeability, springs and hot springs occurring along down-thrown hanging-wall rock adjacent to the fault, and a high permeability layer of old and young Tangkuban Parahu eruptive materials (hanging wall) juxtaposed against the low permeability of the older volcanic layer of Bukit Tunggul unit (footwall). Two different environmental tracers were utilized in the study: electrical conductivity measurement and stable isotope analysis. Hydraulic head was measured at some wells along the fault and water electrical conductivity measurements were carried out in a small catchment, the upper part of Cikapundung River basin, which is located just north of Bandung City. Water samples for stable isotope composition analysis were taken from 19 observation wells distributed randomly inside the basin. All analysis data lead to the recognition that Lembang Fault blocks the groundwater flow. No indication was found for water being recharged at higher elevation in the northern part of Bandung Basin, which means the recharged water in Mount Tangkuban Parahu area does not reach Bandung Plain.