Effects of Weir Operation on Seasonal Groundwater Use: A Case Study of the Han River, South Korea

Hyeonju Lee,Yongcheol Kim,Min-Ho Koo,Eunhee Lee,Soo-Hyoung Lee

doi:10.3390/w14040646

Hyeonju Lee, Yongcheol Kim + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/w14040646

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Abstract

During the cold dry season, a large amount of groundwater is pumped for water-curtain cultivation in agricultural fields mostly located near the four major rivers of South Korea. Several weirs, installed previously to secure sufficient water resources from these rivers, were opened in 2017 for restoring the riverine environment. Weir-controlled river level fluctuations have altered stream–aquifer interactions, leading to groundwater drawdown. In this study, changes in stream–aquifer interaction caused by seasonal pumping and weir opening were investigated, using Visual MODFLOW. Two indexes that considered the pump type and aquifer characteristics—the pumping available thickness (PAT) and aquifer productivity index (API)—were used to analyze the effects of weir opening on seasonal groundwater use. Our simulations indicated that weir opening had a large impact on seasonal groundwater use due to groundwater drawdown, especially with respect to centrifugal pumps located in low transmissivity areas where the API decreased after the weir was opened. The resulting decrease in groundwater pumping rates would lower the thermal effect of the water-curtain greenhouse process. This indicates that water supply alternatives are needed so that the weirs can be operated efficiently and field requirements can be met, while the deleterious effects on groundwater are avoided.

Highlights

In South Korea, a significant amount of groundwater is used in many agricultural areas for ‘water-curtain cultivation’ during the cold winters
This study aims to investigate the effect of weir operation on the stream–aquifer interactions and seasonal groundwater use for water-curtain cultivation
Our model results showed that water level fluctuations played an important role in stream–aquifer interactions, which is consistent with the previous research results [32,33]

Summary

Introduction

In South Korea, a significant amount of groundwater is used in many agricultural areas for ‘water-curtain cultivation’ during the cold winters This is a facility cultivation technique, whereby relatively warm groundwater is sprayed onto greenhouse roofs for heating during the cold season. Non-circulating systems, which were employed in 72% of the total area under water-curtain cultivation in 2017, are mostly used in agricultural fields where the groundwater used for greenhouse heating is discharged into nearby streams [2]. Water-curtain cultivation is a useful technology which replaces the need for oil energy and brings significant economic benefits. It uses a lot of groundwater during the cold dry season, perhaps exceeding aquifer recharge capacity [3]

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