Simulation of Varada Aquifer System for Sustainable Groundwater Development

Groundwater flow modeling has been used extensively worldwide with varying degrees of success. The ability to predict the groundwater flow is critical in planning and implementing groundwater development projects under increasing demand for fresh water resources. This paper presents the simulation of the aquifer system for planning the groundwater development of Varada basin, Karnataka, India using the Galerkin finite-element method. The government of Karnataka State, India is implementing the World Bank assisted project, “Jal Nirmal” for a sustainable development of the region, thereby ensuring a safe supply of drinking water to the northern districts of the state. Varada basin is one of the beneficiaries of the project in Haveri district. Field tests carried out in the study area indicate that the region is predominantly a confined aquifer with transmissivity and storage coefficients ranging from $5.787\times {10}^{-6}{\mathrm{m}}^2∕\mathrm{s}$ $(0.500{\mathrm{m}}^2∕\mathrm{day})$ to $4.213\times {10}^{-3}{\mathrm{m}}^2∕\mathrm{s}$ $(3.640\times {10}^2{\mathrm{m}}^2∕\mathrm{day})$ and $0.011–0.001\times {10}^{-2}$ , respectively. This study mainly emphasizes the spatial and temporal variability of groundwater potential under different developmental scenarios. The model predictions were reasonably good with correlation coefficients ranging from 0.78 to 0.91 with the root mean square error of about 0.46–0.78 during calibration and validation. The stated accuracies are based on comparisons between measured and calculated heads. The outcome of the study would be a useful input for the conjunctive use of surface water and groundwater planning for the sustainable development of the region.