Simulation-Optimization Modelling for Sustainable Groundwater Management in a Coastal Basin of Orissa, India

The Balasore coastal groundwater basin of Orissa in eastern India is under a serious threat of overdraft and seawater intrusion. Two optimization models were developed in this study for the efficient utilization of water resources in Balasore basin during non-monsoon periods: (a) a non-linear hydraulic management model for optimal pumpage, and (b) a linear optimization model for optimal cropping pattern in integration with a calibrated and validated groundwater flow simulation model. Based on the simulation-optimization modeling results, optimal pumping schedules, cropping patterns, and corresponding groundwater conditions are presented for three scenarios viz., wet, normal and dry years. It was found that optimal pumping schedules and corresponding cropping patterns differed significantly under the three scenarios, and the groundwater levels improved significantly under the optimal hydraulic conditions compared to the existing condition. In dry years, the groundwater levels under the present pumping pattern and the optimal pumpage indicated that the non-monsoon pumpage should not exceed the optimal pumpage in the absence of remedial measures in the basin. It is concluded that in order to ensure sustainable groundwater utilization in the basin, the optimal cropping pattern and pumping schedule should be adopted by the farmers.     

Sustainable Development through Groundwater Management: A Case Study on the Barind Tract

Since its birth in 1985, the Barind Multi-purpose Development Project (BMDP) has become a model of a sustainable rural development project in Bangladesh. The project maintains technical soundness by ensuring a high level of water use efficiency and a minimum well spacing. The project runs on full operating and maintenance cost recovery basis, which is achieved through an innovative prepaid water coupon system and the associated command area development scheme. Its governance structure is democratic and participatory. The project has several environmental enhancement programmes such as water conservation, homestead and social forestry, promotion of integrated pest control, and farmers' training. In addition, it has adopted an integrated planning approach that incorporates extending rural electrification, building rural infrastructure and an array of other support programmes. As a result, the BMDP has emerged as a model of sustainable groundwater-based rural development initiative in Bangladesh.     

Simulation-Optimization Modeling of Conjunctive Use of Surface Water and Groundwater

Water resources management in semiarid regions with low precipitation and high potential of evapotranspiration is a great challenge for managers and decision makers. In those regions, both sources of water should be managed conjunctively so as to minimize shortages of water in dry seasons. In conjunctive use, the difficulty increases as one must represent the response of both systems interactions, and develop management strategies that simultaneously address surface water and aquifer regulation. This paper focuses on the simulation-optimization for conjunctive use of surface water and groundwater on a basin-wide scale, the Najafabad plain in west-central Iran. A trained artificial neural network model is developed as a simulator of surface water and groundwater interaction while a genetic algorithm is developed as the optimization model. The main goal of the simulation-optimization model is to minimize shortages in meeting irrigation demands for three irrigation systems subject to constraints on the control of cumulative drawdown of the underlying water table and maximum capacity of surface irrigation systems. To achieve the main goal, three scenarios are presented. Results of the proposed model demonstrate the importance of the conjunctive use approach for planning the management of water resources in semiarid regions.     

Groundwater Management for Sustainable Development of Urban and Rural Areas in Extremely Arid Regions: A Case Study

In Saudi Arabia, the recharge to local and regional aquifers is mostly indirect, very limited and insignificant, especially with low annual precipitation. Most of the stored groundwater in local and regional aquifers is non-renewable fossil water. With rapid socio-economic developments and increasing population coupled with agricultural and industrial growth in the Kingdom, especially after the large increase in oil revenues after 1974, the water demands have increased drastically. By understanding the aquifer features, the country followed a planned approach based on controlling aquifer development and demand management to use its groundwater resources. The socio-economic developments in rural areas have been very pronounced. Corrective demand management measures including reduction in cultivated areas and modification in agricultural support policies in addition to the augmentation of water supplies by the reuse of treated wastewater have reduced the stress on groundwater. The establishment of a special Ministry for water and the adoption of a national water planning approach and the use of an integrated water resources management tool are expected to contribute effectively to the achievement of sustainable groundwater resources and the national interest of the country.     

GIS-Based Assessment for the Development of a Groundwater Quality Index Towards Sustainable Aquifer Management

This study aims at developing Groundwater Quality Indices (GQIs) that constitute a reliable tool in defining aquifer vulnerability. For this purpose, water quality sampling campaigns were conducted on 60 groundwater wells during most vulnerable periods of early and late summer to ensure the representativeness of the targeted GQI under worst case conditions. The samples were tested for various water quality indicators, which were then used to develop the GQIs through GIS-based mapping with spatial geostatistical analysis. The results contribute in filling a gap in GQI definition and form a basis for planning effective water quality management towards sustainable exploitation of groundwater resources particularly during summer periods when recharge is limited.     

Modeling Groundwater Flow and Seawater Intrusion in the Coastal Aquifer of Wadi Ham,UAE

Groundwater pumping from Kalbha and Fujairah coastal aquifer of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has increased significantly during the last two decades to meet the agriculture water demands. Due to the lack of natural replenishment from rainfall and the excessive pumping, groundwater levels have declined significantly causing an intrusion of seawater in the coastal aquifer of Wadi Ham. As a result, many pumping wells in the coastal zone have been terminated and a number of farms have been abandoned. In this paper, MODFLOW was used to simulate the groundwater flow and assess the seawater intrusion in the coastal aquifer of Wadi Ham. The model was calibrated against a five-year dataset of historical groundwater levels and validated against another eleven-year dataset. The effects of pumping on groundwater levels and seawater intrusion were investigated. Results showed that reducing the pumping from Khalbha well field will help to reduce the seawater intrusion into the southeastern part of the aquifer. Under the current groundwater pumping rates, the seawater will continue to migrate inland.     

Cost-effective Approaches for Sustainable Groundwater Management in Alluvial Aquifer Systems

The consequences of unsustainable use of groundwater are becoming increasingly evident worldwide, particularly in developing nations. Groundwater management is a serious problem in many parts of the world. The prime concern is how to achieve groundwater sustainability. Artificial recharge techniques coupled with water harvesting hold a great promise for groundwater sustainability. The main intent of this paper is to highlight salient cost-effective and easy-to-use methods for augmenting groundwater resources in the alluvial hydrogeologic setting. Based on the intensive field investigation in a groundwater basin of Japan, three low-cost and easy-to-implement recharge techniques are suggested for alluvial aquifer systems, viz., augmentation of river flow, recharge through irrigation/drainage canals, and recharge from paddy fields. The source of recharge water for these recharge techniques is surface water supply. The efficacy of these methods or approaches has been demonstrated. It is emphasized that such cost-effective methods of groundwater recharge are key to sustainable groundwater management in both developing and developed countries. These methods must not be overlooked in the midst of sophisticated and highly expensive methods.     

Demonstration of Sustainable Development of Groundwater through Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR)

Water Resources Management - Sustained pumping of groundwater can lead to declining water levels in wellfields and concerns regarding the sustainability of groundwater resources. Aquifer Storage...     

Groundwater Rights and Legislation for Sustainable Development in Arid Regions: The Case of Saudi Arabia

The main objective of this article is to shed light on an important issue of water conservation-groundwater rights and legislation. Principles of groundwater rights are detailed and their applications to major aquifer systems, groundwater basins and wadis are discussed. Legislation and the clarification of water rights are vital for the sustainable development of groundwater. They are urgently needed in Saudi Arabia in particular and in all areas where demand exceeds supply. Legislation is one of the main pillars upon which any conservation policy is built. In this article a model is suggested for groundwater allocation in aquifers shared by more than one state.     

Simulation-Optimization Modeling for Conjunctive Use Management under Hydrological Uncertainty

The canal water supply, which is the only source of irrigation, in the rice-dominated cropping system of the Hirakud canal command (eastern India) is able to meet only 54 % of the irrigation demand at 90 % probability of exceedance. Hence, considering groundwater as the supplemental source of irrigation, conjunctive use management study by combined simulation-optimization modelling was undertaken in order to predict the maximum permissible groundwater pumpage from the command area. Further, optimal land and water resources allocation model was developed to determine the optimal cropping pattern for maximizing net annual return. The modelling results suggested that 2.0 and 2.3 million m³ of groundwater can be pumped from the bottom aquifer during monsoon and non-monsoon seasons, respectively, at 90 % probability of exceedance of rainfall and canal water availability (PERC). Optimal cropping patterns and pumping strategies can lead to about 51.3–12.5 % increase in net annual return from the area at 10–90 % PERC. The sensitivity analysis of the model indicates that the variation in the market price of crops has very high influence on the optimal solution followed by the cost of cultivation and cultivable area. Finally, different future scenarios of land and water use were formulated for the command area. The adoption of optimal cropping patterns and optimal pumping strategies is strongly recommended for sustainable management of available land and water resources of the canal command under hydrological uncertainties.     

东南沿海中小流域城市化发展与水资源可持续利用研究——以宁波市为例

东南沿海中小流域是我国水资源较为丰富的地区,但近年来由于城市化的快速发展,出现了河流水质恶化、水资源短缺、洪涝灾害加剧等一系列水问题,对城市经济发展起到了较大的制约作用.以东南沿海中小流域的典型城市宁波市为例,初步分析了该区在城市化过程中水资源开发利用的问题,开展了城市化对河流水环境的影响研究,探讨了城市化发展对水生态环境及洪涝灾害的影响.在此基础上,基于现代系统理论构建了宁波市水资源可持续利用系统,从而为东南沿海中小流域其它类似区域城市经济可持续发展,水资源可持续利用与水环境保护提供参考.     

Development and Evaluation of Hybrid Artificial Neural Network Architectures for Modeling Spatio-Temporal Groundwater Fluctuations in a Complex Aquifer System

Water Resources Management - The proper design, development, and appropriate tuning of the Hybrid Neural Network architecture, mainly for its parsimoniousity and optimal training can help...     

Simulation Modeling for Efficient Groundwater Management in Balasore Coastal Basin,India

The Balasore coastal groundwater basin in Orissa, India is under a serious threat of overdraft and seawater intrusion. The overexploitation resulted in abandoning many shallow tubewells in the basin. The main intent of this study is the development of a 2-D groundwater flow and transport model of the basin using the Visual MODFLOW package for analyzing the aquifer response to various pumping strategies. The simulation model was calibrated and validated satisfactorily. Using the validated model, the groundwater response to five pumping scenarios under existing cropping conditions was simulated. The results of the sensitivity analysis indicated that the Balasore aquifer system is more susceptible to the river seepage, recharge from rainfall and interflow than the horizontal and vertical hydraulic conductivities and specific storage. Finally, based on the modeling results, salient management strategies are suggested for the long-term sustainability of vital groundwater resources of the Balasore groundwater basin. The most promising management strategy for the Balasore basin could be: a reduction in the pumpage from the second aquifer by 50% in the downstream region and an increase in the pumpage to 150% from the first and second aquifer at potential locations.     

Response Matrix Minimization Used in Groundwater Management with Mathematical Programming: A Case Study in a Transboundary Aquifer in Northern Greece

Groundwater has always been considered to be a readily available source of water for domestic, agricultural and industrial use. The last decades, the lack of policymaking for the utilization of groundwater, has led to overexploitation in many areas. The cooperation of a wide range of scientists such as mathematicians, engineers, computer scientists, environmentalists and economists – operation researchers, have led to the design and construction of commercial computer programs concerned on water management and specifically on the optimal distribution of limited water resources using groundwater management models. These combined models, via simulation and optimization algorithms, result in one optimal solution through operations research and mathematical programming methods. The groundwater management models are based on the method of space superposition or the combination of space and time superposition for steady and unsteady state problems, respectively. In the present study, an algorithm is presented, which minimizes the dimension of the response matrix, concerning on two assumptions: the first is the added fixed cost which represents the water supply pumping well and the second is the removal of time superposition. The study area is a transboundary phreatic aquifer in Northern Greece, in the area of Eidomeni, a small Hellenic village just on the borderline with FYROM. The aquifer has a total area of 10,84 km², 26 operating – pumping wells, which the 9 of them consist control points of the hydraulic head. The number of the management periods is 12 months.     

Impact of Treated Wastewater Reuse on Agriculture and Aquifer Recharge in a Coastal Area: Korba Case Study

Treated wastewater (TWW) reuse has increasingly been integrated in the planning and development of water resources in Tunisia. The present study aimed the evaluation of the environmental and health impact that would have the reuse of TWW for crops direct irrigation or for the recharge of the local aquifer in Korba (Tunisia). For this purpose water analyses were carried on the TWW intended for the aquifer recharge and on underground water of this area. As for underground water before recharge, no contamination by organic matter or heavy metals is shown but high salinity, nitrate, potassium and chloride concentrations are detected. The bacteriological analyses show the occurrence of faecal streptococcus, thermo-tolerant coliforms, total coliforms and E coli, but absence of salmonella. These results indicate that this water is not suitable for irrigation worse still for drinking purpose. The monitoring of TWW pollutants has demonstrated that oxygen demands (COD and BOD) do not exceed the Tunisian standards for TWW used in agriculture (NT 106.03) except for August when samples reach high values (COD = 139 mg O₂ L^− 1, BOD = 34). It is also the case for temperature, electrical conductivity (EC), salinity and pH. Heavy metal concentrations are under the detection limit. The determination of nutrients shows relatively low concentrations of nitrates, nitrites and orthophosphate (the maxima in mg L^− 1 are respectively 6.6, 5.6 and 0.92) whereas the potassium levels are high (up to 48.8 mg L^− 1) and the ammonia levels very high, reaching 60.6 mg L^− 1. As for bacteriological pollution, while no salmonella and intestinal nematods are detected, high concentrations of total coliforms, thermo-tolerant coliforms, faecal streptococci and E. coli are analysed. Consequently, the better use of TWW in this region would be the use of infiltration basins for the recharge of the deteriorated aquifer by TWW. It would give the opportunity to better the quality of the TWW reaching the groundwater by an additional treatment for bacteriological and suspended solid (TSS) contaminants while being an alternative water for the aquifer recharge and a coastal barrier against seawater intrusion.     

A New Approach for Aquifer Vulnerability Assessment: the Case Study of Campania Plain

We are going to propose a new method for aquifer vulnerability assessment, named Susceptibility Index-Contamination Degree (SICODE). Starting from the assumption that soil chemistry impacts on infiltration water quality, geochemical tool such as the soil contamination degree index (CD) was combined with hydrogeological parameters in order to enhance previous well-known index (DRASTIC, Susceptibility Index). The study has been carried out at the Campania Plain (CP) aquifer, which mostly supplies the drinking water distribution system of Napoli (Southern Italy). The survey area extends from Mt. Vesuvius to the metropolitan area of Napoli and it can be considered an interesting field laboratory in order to test hydro-geochemical methods and models since both diffuse anthropogenic pollution and natural contamination sources (e.g. interaction processes between groundwater and rock) coexist. Three models have been compared. Our results have showed that DRASTIC is not the best model to be applied to urbanized environments since it does not account for the anthropogenic influence. Susceptibility Index (SI), which incorporates land use parameter, has showed a more detailed map of vulnerability degree and it better answers the local variability of human pressure. However, the proposed SICODE method completely meets the geochemical fingerprint of soil. Sensitivity analysis has revealed a high variability of the parameters due to the local heterogeneity of the analyzed system conditions. A comparison between the groundwater nitrates distribution and the predicted vulnerability has showed that. SICODE gave more accurate predictions than the other ones. This study has provided the evidence that combining hydrogeological and geochemical tools may enhance aquifer vulnerability assessment.

     

A Suitable Tool for Sustainable Groundwater Management

Artificial recharge is used to increase the availability of groundwater storage and reduce saltwater intrusion in coastal aquifers, where pumping and droughts have severely impaired groundwater quality. The implementation of optimal recharge methods requires knowledge of physical, chemical, and biological phenomena involving water and wastewater filtration in the subsoil, together with engineering aspects related to plant design and maintenance operations. This study uses a novel Decision Support System (DSS), which includes soil aquifer treatment (SAT) evaluation, to design an artificial recharge plant. The DSS helps users make strategic decisions on selecting the most appropriate recharge methods and water treatment technologies at specific sites. This will enable the recovery of safe water using managed aquifer recharge (MAR) practices, and result in reduced recharge costs. The DSS was built using an artificial intelligence technique and knowledge-based technology, related to both quantitative and qualitative aspects of water supply for artificial recharge. The DSS software was implemented using rules based on the cumulative experience of wastewater treatment plant engineers and groundwater modeling. Appropriate model flow simulations were performed in porous and fractured coastal aquifers to evaluate the suitability of this technique for enhancing the integrated water resources management approach. Results obtained from the AQUASTRESS integrated project and DRINKADRIA IPA CBC suggest the most effective strategies for wastewater treatments prior to recharge at specific sites.     

淮北市地下水资源可持续利用

介绍了淮北市水环境基本情况,分析了该市的水资源利用现状及目前存在问题,包括地下水利用不合理、水污染导致生态环境恶化、水资源浪费严重及监管水平低下,最后提出对策有效利用水资源来保障淮北市经济社会可持续发展。     

Quantifying a Sustainable Management Space for Human Use of Coastal Groundwater under Multiple Change Pressures

In the densely populated coastal regions of the world, loss of groundwater due to seawater intrusion, driven by changes of climate, sea level, land use and water use, may critically impact many people. We analytically investigate and quantify the limits constraining a coastal aquifer’s sustainable management space, in order to avoid critical loss of the coastal groundwater resource by seawater intrusion. Limiting conditions occur when the intrusion toe reaches the pumping wells, well intrusion, or the marine-side groundwater divide, complete intrusion; in both cases the limits are functions of the seaward groundwater flow remaining after the human groundwater extractions. The study presents a screening-level approach to the quantification of the key natural and human-determined controls and sustainability limits for the human use of coastal groundwater. The physical and geometrical characteristics of the coastal aquifer along with the natural conditions for recharge and replenishment of the coastal groundwater are the key natural controls of the sustainable management space for the latter. The groundwater pumping rates and locations are the key human-determined controls of this space. The present approach to combining and accounting for both of these types of controls is simple, yet general. The approach is applicable across different scales and regions, and for historic, current and projected future conditions of changing hydro-climate, sea level, and human freshwater use. The use of this approach is also concretely demonstrated for the natural and human-determined controls and limits of the sustainable management space for two specific Mediterranean aquifers.     

Groundwater Resource Use Practices and Implications for Sustainable Agricultural Development in the North China Plain: A Case Study in Ningjin County of Shandong Province,PR China

This paper addresses the critical situation of water resource exploitation for agriculture and environmental effects in Ningjin County in the North China Plain. Several negative environmental effects such as declining groundwater table levels, decline in groundwater quality, increased irrigation cost, increased soil salinity, compaction of soil, increased land subsidence and increased incidence of waterlogging have been experienced in the area, as perceived by the local farmers. This is due to overpumping of groundwater by a large number of wells clustered in small areas. The study indicates that if the current pattern of groundwater use, existing attitudes of farmers and improper implementation of policies and regulations is continued, the agricultural activities will face severe consequences and tend to be unsustainable. This warrants new strategies to improve the present situation.