CONCEPTUAL AND COMPUTATIONAL MODELLING OF CHAUKA SYSTEM USING VISUAL MODFLOW

Abstract

Groundwater has several uses such as domestic, agriculture, industrial, and others; for fulfilling all these demands, we need to have groundwater, but nowadays groundwater table is declining day by day. The reason behind falls in the groundwater is that more groundwater pumping is done than groundwater recharging. The decline behavior of groundwater is managed by artificial recharge structures such as the chauka system, which serves the purpose of groundwater recharge. Rajasthan has several recharging structures, such as check dams, ponds, etc. Surface water is in a significantly smaller fraction than groundwater, resulting in people relying on groundwater exploitation to fulfill their demands. Almost one-third of the world's total population is dependent on groundwater for drinking purposes. Arid and semi-arid regions across the globe are very reliant on groundwater because of significantly less precipitation in these areas. In this study, we have attempted to model the traditional managed aquifer recharge system called the Chauka system and quantify its recharge potential. The field data for 2019 and 2020 was used to calibrate and validate the Model. The conceptual and computational modeling of the chauka system revealed that these structures could convert almost 29% of rainfall to recharge. Therefore, these systems may be suitable for semi-arid climatic conditions in capturing the limited available rainfall and contribute to sustainable groundwater management.