Groundwater Modelling in Bina River Basin, India using Visual Modflow

The study focused on groundwater recourse assessment through steady-state flow modelling in Bina River basin. Bina River is a tributary of Betwa River and is the main source of water for domestic water supply and irrigation supply. Despite its importance for the people in the region, the hydrogeological system of the Bina River basin is not well understood. This study reports a simulation study for better understanding of the groundwater balance at Bina River Basin using Visual MODFLOW. The model involved a steady-state hydrogeological simulation of the two-layered aquifer. The groundwater modelling approach was found to be efficient in identifying the dominant hydrological processes in Bina River basin including evapotranspiration and recharge. The aquifer system was modelled numerically by Visual MODFLOW (flex). The model domain was delineated based on field traverses, topographic maps and digital elevation model extracted from Survey of India toposheet contour lines in ILWIS platform. Aquifer parameters were assigned based on given data by CGWB and WRD, which were then adjusted during the model calibration. The main recharge mechanism considered was direct recharge from rainfall. The model was calibrated to static water levels during 2009 pre- monsoon in each block of Bina River Basin. The overall model results are comparable with the observation well data. The sensitivity of the calibrated model was tested by systematically changing one parameter or input variable at a time and it was found that the model is highly sensitive to changes in ET and recharge rate.