Estimating the Temporal Distribution of Groundwater Recharge by Using the Transient Water Table Fluctuation Method and Watershed Hydrologic Model

Abstract

HighlightsThe transient water table fluctuation method (TWTFM) is revisited.A novel application of linking SWAT model and TWTFM is suggested.A method is proposed to estimate daily groundwater recharge distribution.The method is demonstrated for the Jeju Island in Korea.Abstract. Estimating groundwater recharge remains a difficult but necessary task as part of managing available groundwater supplies. For example, the average groundwater recharge rate of Jeju Island is 54%, which is considerably higher than the inland recharge rate (~15%) in Korea. Although groundwater is the main water source of this and many other islands, quantifying temporal groundwater recharge for water resources planning remains difficult. To estimate groundwater recharge based on rainfall, a simple and straightforward method is proposed that uses an application of the Transient Water Table Fluctuation Method (TWTFM) linked with the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). By using the computed annual percolation from the SWAT as input, two parameters (reaction factor and specific yield) could be estimated by assuming that the sum of daily recharge via the TWTFM was approximately equal to the annual percolation near the water table. This methodology was applied to the Hancheon watershed of Jeju Island, South Korea. Runoff time series data for two years (2009 and 2010) were used to calibrate SWAT and another two years of data were used to validate computed discharges from SWAT. For the calibration of the combined SWAT and TWTFM model, groundwater level data from 2009 and 2010 were used, and then data from 2011 and 2012 were used to predict groundwater recharge using the calibrated TWTFM parameters. The proposed methodology can be used as an efficient tool for estimating the temporal distribution of groundwater recharge using only groundwater data and the annual percolation rate. This methodology can be beneficial for regions where the vadose zone depth is deeply formed and temporal recharge predictions are essential for water management. Keywords: Reaction factor, Specific yield, SWAT, Transient water table fluctuation method (TWTFM).