Modelling groundwater quality of the Athabasca River Basin in the subarctic region using a modified SWAT model

Tesfa Worku Meshesha,Cynthia N Mcclain,Nigus Demelash Melaku,Junye Wang

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-92920-7

Tesfa Worku Meshesha, Cynthia N Mcclain + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-92920-7

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Abstract

Groundwater is a vital resource for human welfare. However, due to various factors, groundwater pollution is a paramount environmental concern. It is challenging to simulate groundwater quality dynamics with the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) because it does not adequately model nutrient percolation processes in the soil. The objectives of this study were to extend the SWAT module to simulate groundwater quality for the parameters nitrate and Total Dissolved Solids (TDS). The results of the SWAT model for the Athabasca River Basin in Canada revealed a linear relationship between observed and calculated groundwater quality. This result achieved satisfactory values for coefficient of determination (R2), Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE), and percent bias (PBIAS). For nitrate, the model performance measures R2 ranged from 0.66–0.83 during calibration and NSE from 0.61–0.83. R2 is 0.71 during validation and NSE ranged from 0.69–0.75. Likewise, for TDS, the model performance measures R2 ranged from 0.61–0.82 during calibration and from 0.58–0.62 during validation. When coupled with soil zone and land surface processes, nitrate and TDS concentrations in groundwater can be simulated with the SWAT model. This indicated that SWAT may be helpful in evaluating adaptive management scenarios. Hence, the extended SWAT model could be a powerful tool for regional-scale modelling of nutrient loads, and to support and effective surface and groundwater management.

Highlights

Groundwater is a vital resource for human welfare
The analysis of model sensitivity can be processed to find out the relative response of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model to the changes in relative value of specific model parameters
Due to development of industries, agriculture, and fisheries, increasing water uses put several burdens on groundwater quality influencing the ecosystem of the Athabasca River Basin

Summary

Introduction

Groundwater is a vital resource for human welfare. due to various factors, groundwater pollution is one of the main environmental concerns. Elevated concentrations of chemical elements and biological constituents exist in the environment, and depending on geo-environmental backgrounds, water pollutants may exhibit spatial and temporal variations[7,8] Anthropogenic processes, such as discharge of untreated sewage water to water bodies, fertilization, and over exploitation, have changed groundwater quantity and quality[9,10,11], leading to soil–water and air p ollution[12]. Namely the downward transport and percolation of nitrate from the root zone to the soil layers, is one of the aggravating causes for groundwater contamination, especially in irrigated areas[15,16] It is still unclear how the anthropogenic and natural factors drive the change in the fluxes and storages of water, and associated groundwater quality. Appraisal of distribution and mitigation of chemical elements in the groundwater using SWAT model is still lacking

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