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Groundwater contaminant transport modeling using Visual MODFLOW: a case study of corporation sewage farm in South Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India

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Abstract

The groundwater movement and pollutant transport model help study the movement of pollutants in the subsurface environment. The study area, Avaniyapuram sewage farm (ASF-156 ha), has been receiving wastewater for fodder grass and vegetable cultivation for the past eight decades from Madurai city. The conceptual groundwater flow modeling was developed for ASF and simulated for an area of 152 km2 (10,000 m × 15,200 m) in the weathered portion of a three-layered unconfined aquifer system using Visual MODFLOW v.4.2. Forty pumping wells and ten observation wells were considered for modeling. The mass transport modeling was performed on contaminant plume for total dissolved solids (TDS) and nitrate (NO3) contaminant plume, with three scenarios and runs for 5, 10, and 15 years for future prediction. The model was calibrated from 2014 to 2018 and validated with 2019 data using steady-state and transient flow conditions. The results showed that the NO3 plume concentration was within the permissible limit (45 mg/l) up to 3 km in the study area. However, after 10 and 15 years, the NO3 plume extended up to 4.5 km northeast, and a maximum NO3 concentration of 90 mg/l was observed. The simulation also showed that the TDS plume concentration ranging from 500 to 1500 mg/l was seen in the study area’s southwest and northwest direction. The TDS values were high in northeast and southeast zone wells, especially near ASF at a 2.5 km circle. The TDS concentration of 3000 mg/l was predicted at 5.5 km in 15 years. Our study clearly showed that distance, direction, and slope played a significant role in the groundwater pollution in and around the corporation sewage farm.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are extremely appreciative to the teaching and non-teaching faculty members of the Civil Engineering Department, Thiagarajar College of Engineering, Madurai; Public Works Department, Tamil Nadu; and Central Groundwater Board for providing necessary support and data for the completion of this case study research. We thank Enago (www.enago.com) for the English language check.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, Thiagarajar College of Engineering, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, 625015, India

    Chandran Sundararaj

  2. Centre for Water Resources, Anna University, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

    Kaarmegam Muthukaruppan

  3. Public Works Department, Environmental Cell Subdivision, Tirunelveli, TN, India

    Dhanasekarapandian Mariappan

  4. Department of Agricultural Engineering, ACRI – TNAU, Madurai, India

    Kumar Veluswamy

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  1. Chandran Sundararaj
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Correspondence to Chandran Sundararaj.

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Sundararaj, C., Muthukaruppan, K., Mariappan, D. et al. Groundwater contaminant transport modeling using Visual MODFLOW: a case study of corporation sewage farm in South Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. Arab J Geosci 15, 1538 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-022-10804-0

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