Malibogazi groundwater dam: an alternative model for semi-arid regions of Turkey to store and save groundwater

Abstract

In central Turkey, there are serious groundwater quality problems in the main river valleys and plains, and even in the lower parts of the secondary basins due to the underlying evaporitic geological formations. Groundwater quality improves towards the upstreams in the alluvium aquifers in most secondary valleys; however, groundwater potential decreases as well due to the reduced basin area, areal extent and thickness of the aquifers. The Malibogazi valley is situated to some 100 km north of Ankara. The dam constructed in the narrowest section of the valley has an average storage coefficient of 0.2 and the total and active storage capacities of 110,000 and 55,000 m 3 , respectively. The 20-m-thick aquifer extends for 6-7 km till the dam site within valley with an average width of 50-70 m. It mostly comprises sandy-gravely alluvial deposits. Malibogazi groundwater dam is a valvecontrolled gravity flow dam. When the valves are opened, the water from the aquifer reservoir flows by gravity through supply pipe to the main irrigation channel, but when the valves are closed the water is stored in the aquifer and groundwater level begins to rise. Average groundwater discharge was about 20 l/s in 2005-2006 irrigation period. In this period, groundwater levels were about 2 m higher compared to the groundwater levels in the same seasons before the construction of the groundwater dam. Because the dam is of gravity flow type, it means an important contribution to the farmers since the operation cost is quite low. Malibogazi groundwater dam represents one of the first experiences of Turkey in the field of groundwater storage. Although the dam has small storage capacity, it may be a model for Turkey from the viewpoints of investigation, construction, dam wall, intake facility and measurements etc.

Assessment of Groundwater Quality and Pollution in the Songnen Plain of Jilin Province, Northeast China

“…Groundwater recharge mainly depends on meteoric precipitation and surface water. In the past few decades, agricultural, domestic, and industrial effluent discharges have also become a source of groundwater recharge [41][42][43][44].…”

An Overview of Managed Aquifer Recharge in Brazil

“…There are records of this type of technology in India, Turkey, and Japan, for both irrigation and saline intrusion containment [40][41][42]. In the Brazilian semiarid region, mainly in the states of Pernambuco, Ceará, and Rio Grande do Norte, this is one of the most applied techniques to deal with water shortages [39].…”

Impacts of Artificial Underground Reservoir on Groundwater Environment in the Reservoir and Downstream Area

“…It directs excess surface water into the aquifer through artificial recharge and arrests groundwater flow by constructing a subsurface dam (if needed) to augment groundwater reserves for subsequent use. Compared with traditional surface reservoirs, artificial underground reservoirs have the advantages of limited evaporation loss, no siltation, less susceptibility to pollution, no dam failure disaster, no land submergence, and resettlement associated with surface dams [8,9,10,11].…”