Groundwater management depends on the knowledge on recharge rates and water fluxes within aquifers. The recharge is one of the water cycle components most difficult to estimate. As a result, despite the chosen method, the estimates are subject to uncertainties that can be identified by means of comparison with other approaches. In this study, groundwater recharge estimates based on the water balance in the unsaturated zone is assessed. Firstly, the approach is evaluated by comparing the results with those of another method. Then, the estimates are used as inputs in a transient groundwater flow model in order to assess how the water table would respond to the obtained recharges rates compared to measured levels. The results suggest a good performance of the adopted approach and, despite some inherent limitations, it has advantages over other methods since the data required are easier to obtain. © 2015, Revista Brasileira de Ciencia do Solo. All rights Reserved.