Optimal management of groundwater pumping of the cache critical groundwater area, Arkansas

Abstract

A simulation model for part of the Mississippi River Valley alluvial aquifer in the Cache area, Arkansas, was coupled with an optimization model to determine maximum optimal pumping from irrigation wells in the areas where cones of depression exist. Groundwater Vistas and Groundwater Management software were used for simulation and optimization model, respectively. The Cache area was designated as a critical groundwater area in 2009 due to the decline in its water level to below 50 % of the saturated thickness of the aquifer. The optimization model was formulated with the objective of maximizing water production from wells subjected to minimum head constraints and drawdown constraints, while limiting groundwater withdrawals to a maximum of 100 and 200 % of the rate pumped in 2010. Four different sets of managed wells were tested in Scenarios 1, 3 (938 wells) and Scenarios 2, 4 (3870 wells). The optimal pumping rates from groundwater in the case of minimum head constraints were 0.59 and 2.43 Mm 3 /d for Scenarios 1 and 2, respectively. In the case of maximum pumping constraints of the managed wells specified as 200 % of the pumping rate of 2010, the optimal pumping rates from groundwater in the case of minimum head constraints were 0.88 and 3.28 Mm 3 /d for Scenarios 3 and 4, respectively. The average optimal pumping increased by 6-49 % in the case of the maximum pumping constraint specified as 200 % of the pumping rate of the year 2010.

Wellfield optimization to minimize contaminant migration from a surficial to a semi‐confined aquifer using numerical modeling

“…The most widely used optimization formulations are linear, quadratic, dynamic, stochastic, nonlinear models, and global search algorithms such as genetic algorithms and simulated annealing (Ahlfeld & Mulligan, 2000; Yeh, 2015). Common groundwater management problems that require simulation–optimization model are pumping optimization (Feyen & Gorelick, 2004; Hallaji & Yazicigil, 1996; Mantoglou, 2003; Mantoglou & Papantoniou, 2008; Theodossiou, 2004; Tung, 1986; Wagner & Gorelick, 1987), pumping cost optimization (Ahlfeld & Sawyer, 1990; Gorelick et al, 1984; Huang & Mayer, 1997; Rashid et al, 2015; Theodossiou, 2004), well location optimization (Gorelick et al, 1984; Huang & Mayer, 1997; Mantoglou & Papantoniou, 2008; Wagner & Gorelick, 1987; Wang & Ahlfeld, 1994), surface water and groundwater conjunctive use optimization (Emch & Yeh, 1998), saline water intrusion minimization (Finney et al, 1992), pumping pattern optimization (Tung, 1986), water injection rate optimization (Sreekanth et al, 2016; Wagner & Gorelick, 1987), prediction uncertainty minimization (Sreekanth et al, 2016), parameter estimation (Feyen & Gorelick, 2004; Mylopoulos & Sidiropoulos, 2016).…”

Sustainability of brackish groundwater utilization from the Eocene Aquifer for oil exploration operations in central Kuwait

“…In other words, groundwater development should avoid excessive drawdowns in the utilized aquifer and deterioration in the quality of the abstracted groundwater. Hence, the integrated approach of water resources development takes into consideration the assessment and evaluation of available water resources in terms of quantity and quality of the produced water (Rashid et al 2015;Duan et al 2013Duan et al , 2015Duan et al , 2016. This research is a good example of groundwater resources management in a water-scarce area where sufficient quantities of groundwater are needed to be produced for industrial use with acceptable limits of water quality.…”

The groundwater balance in alluvial plain aquifer at Dehgolan, Kurdistan, Iran

“…The water balance helps managers and officials to codify a proper plan for water resources and consumption. Water balance codification is a part of groundwater resources management and also generally water management (Rashid et al 2015). Water balance codification helps to find out potential conditions of water resources in an aquifer or studied field and makes progression in water resources utilization possibility.…”