Assessment of Streamflow Depletion Due to Groundwater Pumping from a Well

Abstract

Groundwater pumping from a well has different impacts on streamflow depletion because hydraulic properties of the aquifer and the stream bed differ depending on its location. Therefore, quantitative assessment of streamflow depletion due to each groundwater pumping with different well locations is needed for the effective groundwater development and streamflow management. In this study, a watershed-based surface water and groundwater integrated model, SWAT-MODFLOW was used to assess the streamflow depletion near stream reach due to groundwater pumping from a well located within the Sinduncheon watershed. The arbitrary 50 wells among the currently used groundwater pumping wells were selected within the study area and the streamflow responses to each groundwater pumping were simulated at nearby and downstream reaches. In particular, the applicability of the Stream Depletion Factor (SDF) and Stream Bed Factor (SBF), which are widely used for evaluating the degree of streamflow depletion due to groundwater pumping, was evaluated. The simulated results demonstrated that the streamflow depletion rate divided by the pumping rate significantly differ depending on well locations and distance between well and stream, showing a wide range of values from below 20% to above 90%. From the simulated results, it was found out that the SDF or the SBF can be a partial referred value but not an absolute criterion in determining whether a pumping well has a great impact on streamflow depletion or not.