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Investigation on quantitative and qualitative changes of groundwater resources using MODFLOW and MT3DMS: a case study of Hashtgerd aquifer, Iran

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Abstract

Considering the different quantitative and qualitative issues of groundwater resources, which are caused by population growth and development, the implementation of comprehensive plans and taking management measures in order to protect and restore groundwater resources are highly recommended. In this regard, the evaluations of various management measures are necessary because based on the results, it is possible to make appropriate decisions about how to control water consumption as the main part of future policies. Hashtgerd study area is located in Alborz province in Iran and requires appropriate decisions regarding how to control the intensive groundwater resources depletion and quality reduction. An average storage deficit of 4.08 million cubic meters per year was realized during 2012–2016 and water quality decreased. The present study has investigated the quantitative and qualitative changes of groundwater resources using MODFLOW and MT3DMS in response to different management schemes. Different management schemes based on a national plan called “the aquifer restoration plan” were applied for the 20-year horizon (2016–2036). It was found that by blocking unlicensed agricultural wells and modifying the licenses for licensed agricultural wells in the entire aquifer area, the storage would increase by an average of 7.23 million cubic meters per year, and nitrate and sulfate concentrations would decrease by 0.06 and 1.14 mg/l per year, respectively. Artificial recharge of the aquifer with treated wastewater was found to have a great impact on reducing pollutants and improving the water quality, though it had no desirable effect on the groundwater level. In this case, nitrate and sulfate concentrations decrease by 0.53 and 2.24 mg/l per year, respectively.

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Acknowledgements

The authors appreciate the constructive comments of two reviewers and Editor-in-Chief Prof. Luc Hens, who helped to improve the final version of the paper. Also, the authors are very grateful to Mr. Farshid Safari for helping to develop the MODFLOW for the study area used in this research.

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The authors declare that no funds, grants, or other support were received during the preparation of this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran

    Shiva Rajaeian & Taghi Ebadi

  2. Department of Water Engineering and Management, Tarbiat Modares University, PO Box 14115-336, Tehran, Iran

    Hamed Ketabchi

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  1. Shiva Rajaeian
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  2. Hamed Ketabchi
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  3. Taghi Ebadi
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Conceptualization, methodology, software, visualization, and writing was performed by SR. Project administration, supervision, conceptualization, methodology, investigation, software, resources, validation, and review & editing was done by HK. TE supervised the research. All authors read and approved the final paper.

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Correspondence to Hamed Ketabchi.

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Rajaeian, S., Ketabchi, H. & Ebadi, T. Investigation on quantitative and qualitative changes of groundwater resources using MODFLOW and MT3DMS: a case study of Hashtgerd aquifer, Iran. Environ Dev Sustain 26, 4679–4704 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-022-02904-4

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