Groundwater–Surface Water Interaction—Analytical Approach

Marek Nawalany,Grzegorz Sinicyn,Maria Grodzka-Łukaszewska,Dorota Mirosław-Świątek

doi:10.3390/w12061792

Abstract

Modelling of water flow in the hyporheic zone and calculations of water exchange between groundwater and surface waters are important issues in modern environmental research. The article presents the Analytical Hyporheic Flux approach (AHF) permitting calculation of the amount of water exchange in the hyporheic zone, including vertical water seepage through the streambed and horizontal seepage through river banks. The outcome of the model, namely water fluxes, is compared with the corresponding results from the numerical model SEEP2D and simple Darcy-type model. The errors of the AHF model, in a range of 11–16%, depend on the aspect ratio of water depth to river width, and the direction of the river–aquifer water exchange, i.e., drainage or infiltration. The AHF model errors are significantly lower compared to the often-used model based on vertical water seepage through the streambed described by Darcy’s law.

Highlights

Surface waters and groundwater are elements of the environment that are not isolated from each other
In the developed Analytical Hyporheic Flux model (AHF) model, allowing for calculation of the amount of water exchange in the hyporheic zone including vertical water seepage through the streambed and horizontal seepage through river banks, the geometry of the river cross-section and shape of river sediment is approximate with rectangle geometry
The simulations conducted for the exemplary river–aquifer system permitted drawing the following conclusions: Water exchange assessed with the AHF analytical model assuming a number of simplifications can be considered the first approximation of volumetric water exchange within the exemplary river–aquifer system

Summary

Introduction

Surface waters and groundwater are elements of the environment that are not isolated from each other. Continuous water exchange with varying intensity occurs between them. The phenomenon can be investigated in the physical context and as an important constituent of water management decision-making. Water exchange within river–aquifer systems can be assessed either numerically or analytically, depending on the feasibility of the applied approach for the assumed purpose. This article presents both approaches with particular emphasis on analytical modelling of the phenomenon. The expected advantage of using analytical models lies in their accuracy and computational simplicity

Methods

Results

Conclusion