Kharazmi Journal of Earth Sciences

Kharazmi Journal of Earth Sciences

Effectiveness prediction of restoration and balancing plan on Gotvand aquifer using MODFLOW

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Saeed Pahlevani Zadeh 1
nasrolah kalantari 1
soroor mazrae asl 1
hasan daneshian 2
1 shahid chamran university
2 water and power authority
Abstract
Groundwater is one of the key sources of water supply for various uses in Khuzestan Province. In recent years, especially in the agricultural areas of the Gotvand Plain, it has undergone significant quantitative and qualitative changes. The aim of this study is to predict the effectiveness of the restoration and balancing plan projects (has started since 2008) on the groundwater‑level balance of the Gotvand aquifer using the MODFLOW numerical model. In this research, changes in the water‑table level and the aquifer water budget were examined under different management scenarios through the years 2021 to 2022, including deactivating and sealing illegal wells, resolving the status of “Form one” wells, and revising and adjusting abstraction permits for agricultural well. The simulation results showed that eliminating illegal wells has the greatest impact on improving the aquifer condition. In this scenario, the water‑table level increases by approximately 3 meters in the southern parts of the aquifer and about 0.3 meters in the northern parts, while the aquifer storage increases by around 8 million cubic meters. In contrast, resolving the status of “Form one” wells results in only about a 0.9‑million‑cubic‑meter increase in storage and does not produce a noticeable change in the water‑table level. Overall, the findings indicate that sealing illegal wells can be considered the most effective management action for improving the quantitative status of the Gotvand aquifer.

Keywords
groundwater modeling
restoration and balancing plan
MODFLOW
Gotvand aquifer
Subjects
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Kharazmi Journal of Earth Sciences

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 21 April 2025