Floodwater harvesting for artificial recharge of groundwater - estimation and prediction for arid Iran

Hossein Hashemi

Floodwater harvesting for artificial recharge of groundwater - estimation and prediction for arid Iran

Forskningsoutput: Avhandling › Doktorsavhandling (sammanläggning)

Sammanfattning

Popular Abstract in Swedish
Regnvatteninsamling genom översvämningskontroll för artificiell grundvatteninjektering är en traditionellt använd metod i arida och semiarida Iran. Metoden har använts under flera tusen år för att öka andelen vatten som kan användas till jordbruksproduktion. Under de senaste 100 åren har emellertid mycket av den traditionella kunskapen om dessa metoder fallit i glömska p g a industrialisering av jordbruk, urbanisering och politiska omvälvningar. På grund av ökande klimatförändringar och befolkningstryck har emellertid myndigheterna i Iran återigen delvis kommit att erkänna traditionella metoders relevans för jordbruksproduktion. Det finns fortfarande mycket få kvantitativa undersökningar om dessa metoders effektivitet. I avhandlingen har man utgått från traditionella metoder men förbättrat systemet med hjälp av modern teknik. Ett flodöversvämningsområde (Gareh-Bygone plain) har instrumenterats för regn-avrinnings- och grundvattenobservationer. Observationerna har legat till grund för en hydrologisk och geologisk analys för vattenbalansbestämning och hydrologisk effektivitet. Mätningarna har sedan legat till grund för matematisk simulering av vattentransport för mättade och omättade förhållanden. Resultaten visar på att grundvatteninjektering ökar den hydrologiska effektiviteten och att grundvattennivåer återhämtas på årlig basis. Genom det i huvudsak passiva insamlingssystemet kan jordbruksproduktionen ökas med upp till 100%.

Originalspråk	engelska
Kvalifikation	Doktor
Tilldelande institution	Avdelningen för Teknisk vattenresurslära
Handledare	Berndtsson, Ronny, handledare
Tilldelningsdatum	2014 juni 11
Förlag	Lund University (Media-Tryck)
ISBN (tryckt)	978-91-7623-006-0
Status	Published - 2014

Bibliografisk information

Defence details

Date: 2014-06-11
Time: 10:15
Place: Lecture hall A:A, A-building, Sölvegatan 24, Lund University Faculty of Engineering.

External reviewer(s)

Name: Albergel, Jean
Title: [unknown]
Affiliation: Montpellier University, France. IRD Representative in Kenya

---

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Vattenteknik

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title = "Floodwater harvesting for artificial recharge of groundwater - estimation and prediction for arid Iran",

abstract = "Groundwater depletion in arid and semiarid areas is of increasing concern. Increasing water demand due to increasing population and climate change impacts have intensified the water shortage problems and put further stress especially on groundwater. Water harvesting techniques have been traditional solutions to water scarcity problems in the arid and semiarid Middle East for thousands of years. These techniques are increasingly being encouraged and at present there has been a renewed interest to find improved methods for water harvesting and artificial recharge in many arid countries. In order to understand the function and efficiency of an introduced floodwater harvesting system, the contribution of the system for total recharge and crop yield needs to be quantified using proper techniques and experiments. This dissertation presents a combination of modeling techniques and field experiments to quantitatively evaluate a system for flash flood harvesting in arid southern Iran. To investigate the performance and hydrological function of an improved floodwater spreading system, a groundwater model together with water balance approach were developed to estimate the magnitude of recharged water through both natural riverbed and artificial recharge system. Also, effects of pumping rates on the reservoir from 1993 through 2007 were assessed. The impacts of future climate scenarios on surface and groundwater resources were also simulated using a sequential modeling approach. Further, as the floodwater spreading system is a multi-functional and multi-purposed system, the contribution of the system in spate irrigation farming was tested through a three-year field experiment. In the groundwater modeling, the recharge rate and aquifer hydraulic parameters were estimated through inverse modeling approach. The model was calibrated and verified based on the observed hydraulic head in observation wells and model precision, uncertainty, and model sensitivity were analyzed in all modeling steps. The results showed that in the steady-state groundwater flow with no recharge from surface water, the studied aquifer is mainly recharged by a fault, which conducts water into the area from an upper sub-basin. Estimation showed that the recharge amount in the studied floodwater spreading system varied from a few hundred thousand cubic meters per month during drought periods to about 4.5 million cubic meter per month during rainy periods. The results also showed that in a normal year without extreme events the floodwater spreading system is the main contributor to recharge with 80% and the ephemeral river channel with 20% of total recharge in the studied area. The climate change impact scenarios revealed that the abstraction has the most substantial effect on the groundwater level and the continuation of current pumping rate would lead to a groundwater decline by 18 m up to 2050. The field cultivation of barley crop inside and outside the floodwater spreading system displayed a significant increase in yield for the plots inside the system relative to the plot outside the system. As a summary, recognizing that groundwater depletion is occurring in many arid areas due to the over-exploitation as a consequence of population growth and climate change, multi-purpose floodwater harvesting for artificial recharge and spate irrigation could be a parsimonious and appropriate way to efficiently utilize the potential agricultural capacity of the arid environments. In the floodwater spreading system, a flash flood can be harvested and stored beneath the ground to be abstracted for irrigated agriculture during the dry season while the crop can be directly irrigated by floods in the wet season. Therefore, the groundwater abstraction can be minimized, particularly, during the wet season and water can be saved for the dry season.",

keywords = "Artificial recharge, Groundwater modeling, Climate change, Spate irrigation, Arid area, FWS, GBP",

author = "Hossein Hashemi",

note = "Defence details Date: 2014-06-11 Time: 10:15 Place: Lecture hall A:A, A-building, S{\"o}lvegatan 24, Lund University Faculty of Engineering. External reviewer(s) Name: Albergel, Jean Title: [unknown] Affiliation: Montpellier University, France. IRD Representative in Kenya ---",

year = "2014",

language = "English",

isbn = "978-91-7623-006-0",

publisher = "Lund University (Media-Tryck)",

type = "Doctoral Thesis (compilation)",

school = "Division of Water Resources Engineering",

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TY - THES

T1 - Floodwater harvesting for artificial recharge of groundwater - estimation and prediction for arid Iran

AU - Hashemi, Hossein

N1 - Defence details Date: 2014-06-11 Time: 10:15 Place: Lecture hall A:A, A-building, Sölvegatan 24, Lund University Faculty of Engineering. External reviewer(s) Name: Albergel, Jean Title: [unknown] Affiliation: Montpellier University, France. IRD Representative in Kenya ---

PY - 2014

Y1 - 2014

N2 - Groundwater depletion in arid and semiarid areas is of increasing concern. Increasing water demand due to increasing population and climate change impacts have intensified the water shortage problems and put further stress especially on groundwater. Water harvesting techniques have been traditional solutions to water scarcity problems in the arid and semiarid Middle East for thousands of years. These techniques are increasingly being encouraged and at present there has been a renewed interest to find improved methods for water harvesting and artificial recharge in many arid countries. In order to understand the function and efficiency of an introduced floodwater harvesting system, the contribution of the system for total recharge and crop yield needs to be quantified using proper techniques and experiments. This dissertation presents a combination of modeling techniques and field experiments to quantitatively evaluate a system for flash flood harvesting in arid southern Iran. To investigate the performance and hydrological function of an improved floodwater spreading system, a groundwater model together with water balance approach were developed to estimate the magnitude of recharged water through both natural riverbed and artificial recharge system. Also, effects of pumping rates on the reservoir from 1993 through 2007 were assessed. The impacts of future climate scenarios on surface and groundwater resources were also simulated using a sequential modeling approach. Further, as the floodwater spreading system is a multi-functional and multi-purposed system, the contribution of the system in spate irrigation farming was tested through a three-year field experiment. In the groundwater modeling, the recharge rate and aquifer hydraulic parameters were estimated through inverse modeling approach. The model was calibrated and verified based on the observed hydraulic head in observation wells and model precision, uncertainty, and model sensitivity were analyzed in all modeling steps. The results showed that in the steady-state groundwater flow with no recharge from surface water, the studied aquifer is mainly recharged by a fault, which conducts water into the area from an upper sub-basin. Estimation showed that the recharge amount in the studied floodwater spreading system varied from a few hundred thousand cubic meters per month during drought periods to about 4.5 million cubic meter per month during rainy periods. The results also showed that in a normal year without extreme events the floodwater spreading system is the main contributor to recharge with 80% and the ephemeral river channel with 20% of total recharge in the studied area. The climate change impact scenarios revealed that the abstraction has the most substantial effect on the groundwater level and the continuation of current pumping rate would lead to a groundwater decline by 18 m up to 2050. The field cultivation of barley crop inside and outside the floodwater spreading system displayed a significant increase in yield for the plots inside the system relative to the plot outside the system. As a summary, recognizing that groundwater depletion is occurring in many arid areas due to the over-exploitation as a consequence of population growth and climate change, multi-purpose floodwater harvesting for artificial recharge and spate irrigation could be a parsimonious and appropriate way to efficiently utilize the potential agricultural capacity of the arid environments. In the floodwater spreading system, a flash flood can be harvested and stored beneath the ground to be abstracted for irrigated agriculture during the dry season while the crop can be directly irrigated by floods in the wet season. Therefore, the groundwater abstraction can be minimized, particularly, during the wet season and water can be saved for the dry season.

AB - Groundwater depletion in arid and semiarid areas is of increasing concern. Increasing water demand due to increasing population and climate change impacts have intensified the water shortage problems and put further stress especially on groundwater. Water harvesting techniques have been traditional solutions to water scarcity problems in the arid and semiarid Middle East for thousands of years. These techniques are increasingly being encouraged and at present there has been a renewed interest to find improved methods for water harvesting and artificial recharge in many arid countries. In order to understand the function and efficiency of an introduced floodwater harvesting system, the contribution of the system for total recharge and crop yield needs to be quantified using proper techniques and experiments. This dissertation presents a combination of modeling techniques and field experiments to quantitatively evaluate a system for flash flood harvesting in arid southern Iran. To investigate the performance and hydrological function of an improved floodwater spreading system, a groundwater model together with water balance approach were developed to estimate the magnitude of recharged water through both natural riverbed and artificial recharge system. Also, effects of pumping rates on the reservoir from 1993 through 2007 were assessed. The impacts of future climate scenarios on surface and groundwater resources were also simulated using a sequential modeling approach. Further, as the floodwater spreading system is a multi-functional and multi-purposed system, the contribution of the system in spate irrigation farming was tested through a three-year field experiment. In the groundwater modeling, the recharge rate and aquifer hydraulic parameters were estimated through inverse modeling approach. The model was calibrated and verified based on the observed hydraulic head in observation wells and model precision, uncertainty, and model sensitivity were analyzed in all modeling steps. The results showed that in the steady-state groundwater flow with no recharge from surface water, the studied aquifer is mainly recharged by a fault, which conducts water into the area from an upper sub-basin. Estimation showed that the recharge amount in the studied floodwater spreading system varied from a few hundred thousand cubic meters per month during drought periods to about 4.5 million cubic meter per month during rainy periods. The results also showed that in a normal year without extreme events the floodwater spreading system is the main contributor to recharge with 80% and the ephemeral river channel with 20% of total recharge in the studied area. The climate change impact scenarios revealed that the abstraction has the most substantial effect on the groundwater level and the continuation of current pumping rate would lead to a groundwater decline by 18 m up to 2050. The field cultivation of barley crop inside and outside the floodwater spreading system displayed a significant increase in yield for the plots inside the system relative to the plot outside the system. As a summary, recognizing that groundwater depletion is occurring in many arid areas due to the over-exploitation as a consequence of population growth and climate change, multi-purpose floodwater harvesting for artificial recharge and spate irrigation could be a parsimonious and appropriate way to efficiently utilize the potential agricultural capacity of the arid environments. In the floodwater spreading system, a flash flood can be harvested and stored beneath the ground to be abstracted for irrigated agriculture during the dry season while the crop can be directly irrigated by floods in the wet season. Therefore, the groundwater abstraction can be minimized, particularly, during the wet season and water can be saved for the dry season.

KW - Artificial recharge

KW - Groundwater modeling

KW - Climate change

KW - Spate irrigation

KW - Arid area

KW - FWS

KW - GBP

M3 - Doctoral Thesis (compilation)

SN - 978-91-7623-006-0

PB - Lund University (Media-Tryck)

ER -

Floodwater harvesting for artificial recharge of groundwater - estimation and prediction for arid Iran

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Ämnesklassifikation (UKÄ)

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