Groundwater development and management in Siem Reap, Cambodia

Abstract

Reliable and clean water is essential for sustainable development. Siem Reap city is the center of the tourism for Angkor Wat, and the population and tourist has rapidly increased over the last decade. However, the present water supply system cannot fulfill the water demand. Groundwater can be expected to meet the increasing municipal and industrial use of water. However, there are great concerns about land subsidence over the Angkor Wat due to excessive pumping of groundwater. This study describes the existing production wells, located 7.5 km far from Angkor Wat and addresses the influence on Angkor Wat from the existing and further groundwater development in the Siem Reap region. In order to predict the aquifer response to groundwater development, a three-dimensional groundwater flow model is constructed, and its application is presented to demonstrate how to use the simulation for groundwater development and management in this region.