Groundwater risk estimation of a river basin

Abstract

Over extraction of an aquifer system due to prolonged pumping can cause the groundwater level to decline below its natural sustainable yield. Consequently, this leads to increase groundwater risk due to groundwater depletion, unsatisfied water demands and may cause environmental, social and economic negative consequences. We propose an empirical approach in estimating groundwater risk based on the relationships between pumping rate and aquifer sustainable yield. We found that this approach can produce accurate sustainable yield and groundwater risk profile where there are sufficient data on pumping and groundwater response. This empirical response can provide decision makers with robust info..