Groundwater modeling of Saq Aquifer Buraydah Al Qassim for better water management strategies

Saudi Arabia is an arid country. It has limited water supplies. About 80-90% of water supplies come from groundwater, which is depleting day by day. It needs appropriate management. This paper has investigated groundwater modeling of Saq Aquifer in Buraydah Al Qassim to estimate the impact of its excessive use on depletion of Saq Aquifer. MODFLOW model has been used in this study. Data regarding the aquifer parameters was measured by pumping tests. Groundwater levels and discharge of wells in the area for the year 2008 and previous record of year 1999 have been collected from Municipal Authority of Buraydah. Location of wells was determined by Garmin. The model has been run for different sets of pumping rates to recommend an optimal use of groundwater resources and get prolonged life of aquifer. Simulations have been made for a long future period of 27 years (2008-2035). Model results concluded that pumping from the Saq Aquifer in Buraydah area will result into significant cones of depression if the existing excessive pumping rates prevail. A drawdown up to 28 m was encountered for model run for 27 years for existing rates of pumping. Aquifer withdrawals and drawdowns will be optimal with the conservation alternative. The management scheme has been recommended to be adopted for the future protection of groundwater resources in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.