Groundwater modeling for assessing the recharge potential and water table behaviour under varying levels of pumping and recharge
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53550/Keywords:
Artificial recharge, Groundwater modelling, MODFLOWAbstract
Increased abstraction to meet the food demands of the burgeoning population has raised the concerns for groundwater sustainability in several parts of India. In order to develop an optimum management plan for such areas, impact of various management alternatives on water tables needs to be assessed. This study investigates the impact of different rates of groundwater withdrawal and artificial recharge on water tables in IARI farmlocated in alluvial tracts of Northern India. A three dimensional finite difference model MODFLOW was used to simulate the aquifer system of the study area. The model was calibrated and validated using observed data for the period 2007 to 2010. The results of calibration and validation showed agreement between observed and predicted water table elevation. The coefficient of determination (R ) ranged between 0.80 to 0.91 for calibration and 0.81 to 0.94 for validation. The validated model was used to simulate the water table behaviour for the period of 2012 to 2018 under eight management scenarios. The modeling results showed that the prevailing pumping rate, groundwater level would go down at an average rate of 0.64 m yr . If the pumping increases by 20%, the water table will decline at 0.91 m yr . Recharging 60% of available surface runoff would reduce the rate of groundwater decline to 0.25 m yr highlighting the fact that extensive recharging of groundwater is still not sufficient to check the declining water levels and there is need for demand management. The simulation results also showed that at prevailing pumping and recharge levels, the sustainability of groundwater resources cannot be ensured unlesswater availability at the IARI farms is increased.
References
Anderson, M.P. and Woessner, W.W. 1992. Applied Groundwater Modelling: Simulation of Flow and Advective Transport, pp. 3-81, Academic Press, San Diego, California.
Barthel, R., Reichenau, T.G., Krimly, T., Dabbert, S., Schneider, K. and Mauser,W. 2012. Integrated Modeling of Global Change Impacts on Agriculture and Groundwater Resources. Water Resour. Manage., 26(7): 1929-1951.
Calderhead, A.I., Martel, R., Garfias, J., Rivera, A. And Therrien, R. 2012.
Sustainable Management for Minimizing Land Subsidence of an Over-Pumped Volcanic Aquifer System: Tools for Policy Design. Water Resour. Manage.,26(7): 1847-1864.
CGWB. 2010. Ground water scenario of India. Central Ground Water Board, Ministry of Water Resources, Government of India, Faridabad. Http://www.cgwb.gov.in
Chiang, W.H. and Kinzelbach, W. 1998. Processing MODFLOW A simulation System for Modelling Groundwater Flow and Pollution. Software Instruction Book, Hamburg-Zurich, 334 p.
Doll, P. 2009. Vulnerability to the impact of climate change on renewable groundwater resources: a global-scale assessment. Environmental Research Letters, 4(3): 35006-35006
FAO. 2010.AQUASTAT, Food and Agriculture Organization information system on water and agriculture. http://www.fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/main/index.stm.
GEC. 2009. Report of the Groundwater Resource Estimation Committee, Groundwater resource estimation methodology. 107 p. (reprint), Ministry of Water Resources, Govt. of India, New Delhi.
Kong, J., Xin, P., Song, Z.Y. and Li, L. 2010. A new model for coupling surface and subsurface water flows:With an application to a lagoon J. Hydrol., 390(1-2): 116-120.
Liu, C.W., Chou, Y.L., Lin, S.T., Lin, G.J. and Jang, C.S. 2010. Management of high groundwater level aquifer in the Taipei Basin. Water Resour. Manage.,24: 3513-3525.
Mali, S.S. 2004. Studies on groundwater recharge processes and potential. M.Sc. Thesis, Division of Agricultural Engineering, Indian Agricultural research Institute,NewDelhi, India.
Manghi, F.,Williams, D., Safely, J. and Hamdi, M.R. 2012. Groundwater flow modelling of the Arlington Basin to Evaluate Management Strategies for Expansion of the Arlington DesalterWater Production. Water Resour. Manage., 26(1): 21-41.
Manuel, G.Q. 2006. Groundwater Modelling of the Tsinkqnet Catchment: a MODFLOW approach to Evaluate the Impact of Small Reservoirs on Groundwater Recharge. M.Sc. thesis, Universiteit Gent, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium, http://phylares.vub.ac.be.
McDonald, M.G. and Harbaugh,A.W. 1988. A modular three dimensional finite-difference ground-water flow model, pp 586, USGS Techniques of Water-Resources Investigations, United States Geological Survey, USA.
Moreaux, M. and Reynaud, A. 2006. Urban freshwater needs and spatial cost externalities for coastal aquifers: A theoretical approach. Regional Science and Urban Economics,36(2):163-86.
Qureshi, A.S., McCronick, P.G. and Sharma, B.R. 2010. Challenges and prospects of sustainable groundwater management in the Indus Water Resour. Manage., Basin, Pakistan. 24:155-169.
Rai, S.N. and Manglik, A. 1999. Modelling of water level variation in response to time-varying recharge from multiple basins using the J. Hydrol., linearized Boussinesq equation. 220(3-4): 141-148.
Rai, S.N., Manglik, A. and Singh,V.S. 2006.Water table fluctuation owing J. Hydrol., to time-varying recharge, pumping and leakage. 324: 350-358.
Rejani, R., Jha, M.K., Panda, S.N. and Mull, R. 2008. Simulation Modeling for Efficient Groundwater Management in Balasore Water Resour. Manage., Coastal Basin, India. 22: 23-50.
Rozemeijer, J.C.,Van derVelde,Y., McLaren, R.G.,Van Geer, F.C., Broers,
H.P. and Bierkens, M.F.P. 2010. Integrated modelling of groundwatersurface water interactions in a tile-drained agricultural field: The importance of directly measured flow route contributions. Water Resour. Manage., 46: 2010.
Sarkar,T.K. 1980. Drainage system design,Adrainage plan for the Institute Research Farm,193 p., Design Manual No-1, Water Technology Centre, IndianAgriculture Research Institute,NewDelhi-110012.
Sayana, V.B.M., Arunbabu, E., Mahesh, K.L., Ravichandran. S. and Karunakaran, K. 2010. Groundwater responses to artificial recharge of rainwater in Chennai, India: a case study in an educational Indian J. Sci. Tech., institution campus. 3(2): 124-30.
Shah, T., Burke, J. and Villholth, K. 2007. Groundwater: a global assessment of scale and significance. In: Molden, D. (ed). pp. 395423. : A Comprehensive Water for Food, Water for Life Assessment of Water Management in Agriculture. London: Earthscan and Colombo: International Water Management Institute.
Shah, T., Molden, D., Sakthivadivel, R. and Seckler, D. 2000. The global groundwater situation: Overview of opportunities and challenges, 19 p., InternationalWater Management Institute. Colombo, Sri Lanka
Sharma, K.K. and Dubey, S.K. 2013. Probability analysis of rainfall for planning water harvesting and irrigation in semi-arid region of Uttar Indian J. Soil Cons. Pradesh. ., 41(1): 14-19.
Siebert, S., Burke, J., Faures, J.M., Frenken, K., Hoogeveen, J., Doll, P. and Portmann, F.T. 2010. Groundwater use for irrigation-a global Hydrol. Earth System Sci., inventory. 14: 1863-1880.
Taheri, A. and Zare, M. 2011. Groundwater artificial recharge assessment in Kangavar Basin, a semi-arid region in the western part of Iran. African J. Agric. Res., 6(17): 4370-4384.
Ting, C.S., Zhou, Y., Vries, J.J. and Simmers, de. 1998. Development of a preliminary groundwater flow model for water resources GroundWater management in the Pingtung Plain,Taiwan. 35(6): 20-35.
Xu, X., Huang, G., Qu, Z. and Pereira, L.S. 2011. Using MODFLOW and GIS to assess changes in groundwater dynamics in response to water saving measure in irrigation districts of the Upper Yellow River Basin. Water Resour. Manage.,25: 2035-2059.
Zektser, I.S. and Everett, L.G. 2004. Groundwater resources of the world and their use, 346 p.,UNESCOIHP-VI Series on Groundwater No 6, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, Paris.
