Predicting discharge potential of upper Thal Doab, Indus basin for irrigation through numerical groundwater flow modeling

الموضوعات :

Hanif Rehman ¹ (Department of Earth Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan)
Zulfiqar Ahmad ² (University of Wah, Pakistan)
Arshad Ashraf ³ (National Agriculture Research Council, Islamabad, Pakistan)

تاريخ الإرسال : 11 الجمعة , شعبان, 1439 تاريخ التأكيد : 05 السبت , محرم, 1440 تاريخ الإصدار : 21 الإثنين , محرم, 1440

الکلمات المفتاحية: Indus Aquifer, Irrigated Agriculture, Thal Doab, Groundwater Modeling,

ملخص المقالة :

Groundwater is playing an important role in sustainability of irrigated agriculture in Pakistan by contributing about 40% in total water resources of the country. To ascertain the present status of the aquifer in the Upper Thal Doab area, a groundwater modeling using Visual MODFLOW 2011.1 has been executed. Steady-state model was calibrated for the year 1984 and transient state model was simulated up to predictive period of 2025. The transient simulation results indicate stability of the aquifer with minor difference between water flowing into and out of the aquifer. During 1984 to 2025 it has been observed that the total water inflows increased from 347.00 to 3029.14 BCM (Billion Cubic Meter) and total discharges from 347.00 to 3029.29 BCM, which shows stability of the total groundwater storages of the aquifer. However, if the pumpage increases with this rate, there are chances that groundwater of the area will deteriorate in future. This study provides a base for timely formation of management strategies for the reasonable utilization and management of groundwater resources in the area.Keywords: Groundwater Modeling, Irrigated Agriculture, Thal Doab, Indus Aquifer

المصادر:

1. Ahmad S, Bari A,  Muhammad A (2003) Climate change and water resources of Pakistan -Impact Vulnerabilities, Copying mechanism. Workshop on Climate Change and Water resources in South Asia, Kathmandu.


2. Asharaf A, Ahmad Z (2008) Regional groundwater flow modelling of Upper Chaj Doab of Indus Basin, Pakistan using finite element model (Feflow) and geoinformatics. Geophysical Journal International 173(1): 17-24.


3. Bennett GD, Sheikh IA, Alr S (1967) Analysis of Aquifer Tests in the Punjab Region of West Pakistan. Geological Survey Water-Supply  Paper 1608-G. United States Government Printing, Washington.


4. Guvanasen V, Wade SC, Barcelo MD (2005) Simulation of Regional Ground Water Flow and Salt Water Intrusion in Hernando County, Florida. Groundwater 38(5): 772-783.


5. Freeze RA, Witherspoon PA (1966) Theoretical Analysis of Regional Groundwater Flow - Analytical and Numerical Solutions to the Mathematical Model. Water Resources Research 2(4): 641-656.


6. Khan AD, Mona Hagras A,  Iqbal N (2014) Groundwater Quality Evaluation in Thal Doab of Indus Basin of Pakistan. International Journal of Modern Engineering Research (IJMER):36-47.


7. Kumar B, Kumar U (2011) Ground water recharge zonation mapping and modeling using Geomatics techniques. International journal of Environmental Sciences  1: 1670-1681.


8. Algafar MA, Abdou G, Abdelsalam Y (2011) Groundwater flow model for the Nubian aquifer in the Khartoum area, Sudan. Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment 70: 619–623.


9. Jyrkama MI, Sykes JF, Normani SD (2002) Recharge estimation for transient groundwater modeling. Journal of Groundwater 40 (6): 638-648.


10. Singhal V, Goyal R (2011) Development of conceptual groundwater flow model for Pali area, India. African journal of Environmental Science and Technology 5(12): 1085-1092.


11. Shamsi RA, Bilal H (1963) Quality of Groundwater in Thal Doab, West Pakistan. Water and Soil Investigation Division, WAPDA, Bullitin No.5, Lahore, Pakistan.


12. Shah ZU, Ahmad Z (2015) Hydrochemical mapping of the Upper Thal Doab (Pakistan) using the geographic information system. Environmental Earth Sciences 74: 2757–2773.


13. Thiessen AH (1911) Precipitation Averages for Large Areas. Monthly Weather Review 39(7): 1082-1084.


14. Toth J (1963) A theoretical analysis of groundwater flow in small drainage basins. Journal of Geophysical Research 68(16): 4795-4812.


15. WAPDA (1994) Hydrogeological data of Thal Doab - Basic Data releases No.15 and 16: Directorate General of Hydrogeology,  WAPDA, Lahore, Pakistan.


16. Abu-El-Sha'r WY, Hatamleh RI (2007) Using Modflow and MT3D groundwater flow and transport models as a management tool for Azraq groundwater system.  Jordan Journal of Civil Engineering 2: 1-7.


17. World Bank (2017) World Development Indicators 2017. Washington, DC: World Bank.


18. Zhou Y, Li W (2011) A review of regional groundwater flow modeling. Geoscience Frontiers 2(2): 205-214.