Groundwater recharge: A guide to understanding and estimating natural recharge

Abstract Population growth and higher living standards have resulted in ever-increasing demand for water. For the present study natural recharge was computed from a water balance model and daily water level fluctuations were measured to study the increase in water level due to artificial recharge. Numerical models were developed using MODFLOW to analyze the feasibility of different artificial recharge arrangements such as check dam and percolation pond with percolation wells individually and in combination and evaluate the effectiveness of the structures in recharging the aquifer. The maximum increase in water level was found to be 3.46 m, 2.54 m and 4.7 m respectively for the check dam, percolation pond with three percolation wells and combined structure arrangement after 2 years of artificial recharge. The zone of influence was obtained as 400 m, 600 m and 500 m respectively for the check dam, percolation pond and combined structure system. Water level fluctuations also proved the same. Water level increase obtained from the natural recharge study was only of the order of 0.2 m. Artificial recharge is found to be very effective for sustainable development of water resources and the percolation pond was found to be the most appropriate structure for groundwater recharge for the study area.

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Icing phenomena for managed aquifer recharge (MAR) and it’s feflow simulation result

Proceedings of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences ◽

10.5564/pmas.v59i1.1134 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 16-31

Author(s):

Nasanbayar N

Keyword(s):

Groundwater Recharge ◽

Water Availability ◽

Water Source ◽

Managed Aquifer Recharge ◽

Cold Period ◽

Early Winter ◽

Aquifer Recharge ◽

Winter Cold ◽

Recharge Rates ◽

Natural Recharge

Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia, shows a highly dynamic urban and industrial development, with a strong increase of population. Thus, water demand is continuously rising while water availability is in general low and less reliable. The semi-arid and cold environment shows a high variability in precipitation and river discharge, with a general tendency towards decreasing water availability due to increasing air temperatures and thus rising potential evaporation. In parallel with the city’s development, the extended groundwater aquifer shows a clear decline, and the groundwater levels drop significantly. Therefore, a groundwater management system based on managed aquifer recharge is proposed and a strategy to implement these measures in the Tuul valley is presented. In this study considered enhancement of natural recharge rates during the early winter cold period, an increase of groundwater recharge through creating ice storages, due to keep water source as in ice form on surface. In dry season March to May ice storage recharge surface and groundwater by melting where Tuul River is non-flow condition. In this paper also written matlab icing code in water supply wells location, limited and unlimited area. The study of icing was processed in feflow simulation scenarios for artificially recharging groundwater resources.In this study considered feflow simulation scenarios for artificially recharging groundwater resources like enhancement of natural recharge rates during the early winter cold period, an increase of groundwater recharge through creating ice storages, due to keep water source as in ice form on surface, drainage canal recharging aquifer from opposite side, constructing underground dam that accumulates groundwater behind. The result shown that one of the possibilities recharge groundwater in dry season is icing method which creates ice sheets over ice and build ice storages in winter, keep water in ice form.

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