Responses of groundwater vulnerability to artificial recharge under extreme weather conditions in Shijiazhuang City, China

Abstract

Artificial recharge is becoming one of the most important ways to deal with water shortage and induced environmental geological problems, but it also brings potential groundwater contaminant risks, especially under extreme weather conditions. A classic method, DRASTIC, and groundwater flow simulation model have been used to analyze the response of groundwater vulnerability to artificial recharge under extreme weather conditions. The results show that a simultaneously abundant year and scarce year of the local area and the Han River Basin are 7.46 and 6.60%, respectively. The quantities of artificial recharge water would be 8.72 × 104m3/a and 4.64 × 104m3/a, respectively. Five scenarios with extreme weather conditions were discussed. The groundwater vulnerability would not change a great deal without extreme conditions under artificial recharge. Under extreme abundant conditions, the induced groundwater level lowering would making the depth of groundwater level increase, and the vulnerability would be lower. Under extreme abundant conditions, the decreased depth of groundwater level and increased net recharge made the vulnerability increase obviously, and the low vulnerability area was converted into the moderate and high vulnerability areas. More attention should be paid to the quality of recharged water and monitoring schemes should be carried out around the infiltration field.