Spatial Assessment of Effects of Near-Stream Groundwater Pumping on Streamflow Depletion

Abstract

The objective of this study is to spatially assess the streamflow depletion due to groundwater pumping near the main stream of Juksanchoen watershed. The surface water and groundwater integrated model, SWAT-MODFLOW, in this study, was used to simulate streamflow responses to each groundwater pumping from wells located within 500 m from the stream. The simulated results showed that the streamflow depletion rate divided by the pumping rate for each well location ranges from 20% to 96%. In particular, the streamflow depletion exceeds 60% of pumping rate if the distance between stream and well is lower than 100 m, hydraulic diffusivity is higher than 500 m 2 /d, and streambed hydraulic conductance is above 25 m/d. The simulated results were also presented in the form of spatial distribution maps that indicate the fraction of the well pumping rate in order to show the effect of a single well more comprehensively and easily. From the developed areal distribution of stream depletion, higher and more rapid responses to pumping occur near middle-downstream reach, and the spatially averaged percent depletion is about 66.7% for five years of pumping. The streamflow depletion map can provide objective information for the near-stream groundwater permission and management.