Impact of artificial recharge on groundwater recharge estimated by groundwater modeling (case study: Jarmeh flood spreading, Iran)

Abstract

The use of artificial recharge to store extra surface water underground is predicted to rise as increasing populations request more water in Khuzestan province, southwest of Iran. Groundwater storage in this part of country represents both a practical solution to the province’s additional water storage needs and a tool to help manage groundwater more sustainably. However, to justify the effectiveness and the expenses of artificial recharge projects, their impacts on aquifers should be evaluated. In almost all artificial recharge projects, project evaluation is done after its performance. However, using the capabilities of the model, it can evaluate the usefulness of the project before its performance. Therefore, the extra costs can be prevented. To demonstrate the capabilities of artificial groundwater recharge and to evaluate its impact on existing groundwater resource, a study was carried out in the Lour plain in Khuzestan and the groundwater-flow model MODFLOW was used for a quantitative assessment of Jarmeh flood spreading project. The aim of the project is to solve the water shortage in the area. A three-dimensional finite-difference approach for Jarmeh flood spreading project was implemented using the Groundwater Modeling System (GMS). Moreover, the automated parameter estimation module for MODFLOW was used to optimize parameters for best agreement between simulated and observed groundwater levels. New findings showed that Jarmeh flood spreading not only has increased groundwater level in vicinity of recharged area, but also has increased water budget of the aquifer about 1.6 million cubic meters.