Modelling aquifer-river interaction

Hello all,

My question is about how can I model the effect of groundwater abstraction on river flow, in fact, how can I make Fluid-Transfer BC become the calculated variable.

I have an unconfined, phreatic type aquifer. It is highly connected to the river and recharge comes mostly from it. In a future scenario I have some pumping wells and I want to know how much water can I extract without draining the river.

It would be very helpful if someone could provide me a paper with a similar problem.

Thanks,

Idoia.

If you are interested in representing the detailed impact of groundwater abstraction on the river flow dynamics you probably need to couple FEFLOW with external open surface water hydraulic simulators

An interface between FEFLOW and MIKE 11 exists. The interface has been developed within the framework of the FEFLOW InterFaceManager (IFM): http://feflow.info/fileadmin/FEFLOW/content_tagung/TagungsCD/papers/29.pdf. MIKE 11 is capable to solve different approximations of the Saint Venant Equations.

Alternatively, you could use FEFLOW as a standalone simulator. Instead of coupling FEFLOW with an external code you could use a Fluid-Transfer BC within the FEFLOW model. A Fluid-Transfer BC applies a pre-defined reference head combined with a conductance parameter (transfer-rate as accessible as a material property in the Data Panel). This BC is often used for the representation of rivers. If there is a strong interaction between the river and the groundwater you could adjust the transfer-rate accordingly.