Simulationoptimization approach to assess groundw

Authors: V Uddameri M Kuchanur

Publish Date: 2006/08/22

Volume: 51, Issue: 6, Pages: 921-929

PDF Link

Abstract

Sustainable management of groundwater resources is critical for viable development of semiarid regions Refugio County TX is predominantly a rural community that is in close proximity to two large urban areas of Corpus Christi and San Antonio Largescale water supply projects are being planned to export surplus water available in Refugio County to nearby growing cities Being a coastal county with several sensitive bays and estuaries these projects have caused concerns with regard to decreases in freshwater inflows to coastal bodies and raised the possibility of saltwater intrusion A simulation model characterizing groundwater flow in the shallower unconfined and the deeper semiconfined formations of the Gulf coast aquifer was calibrated and evaluated The model results were used in conjunction with a mathematical programming scheme to estimate maximum available groundwater in the county Stakeholder concerns were incorporated as constraints which included prevention of saltwater intrusion in the aquifer limiting the amount of allowable drawdown in shallow aquifers as well as maintaining current flow gradients especially near baseflowdependent streams and rivers For the conditions assumed in this study the model results indicate that roughly 493 × 107 m3 of water can be extracted in a typical year The management model was noted to be very sensitive to the imposed saltwater intrusion constraintThis material is based on work supported by NSF under Cooperative Agreement No HRD0206259 and other financial and logistic support from Refugio Groundwater Conservation District Any opinions findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation or the Refugio Groundwater Conservation District

Keywords: