Zone Management of Multi-Purpose Use of Groundwater Via Spatial Variability Analysis of Water Quality and Hydrogeology

Groundwater is comprehensively used for irrigation, aquaculture and public water supply in Pingtung plain. Establishing a sound management plan of multi-purpose groundwater utilization in Pingtung plain is imperial for water resources sustainability. When extracting groundwater for such multi-purpose use, the major concerns are to assure the meets for the different water quality standards for various water use sectors demand and minimizing the pumping impacts on aquifers. The groundwater quality and hydrogeological conditions play important roles in multi-purpose groundwater utilization. Management and effective use of groundwater typically face great challenges, due to the spatial variability of groundwater quality and hydrogeological condition. This study combines the variability of groundwater quality and hydrological condition to propose zonal management of multi-purpose use of groundwater in Pingtung plain. Based on the water quality standards for various groundwater utilization sectors, the integration of hydrochemical parameters are used to delineate most appropriate zones of various groundwater utilization sectors. For evaluation of hydrogeological condition, transmissivity which represents the ability of water transmitted in aquifer is adopted to determine the most suitable zones of groundwater extraction. Based on the analytical results of the water quality parameters and transmissivity in combination with actual groundwater utilization, a zonal management plan of multi-purpose groundwater utilization is established. The framework in this project can provide an effective tool for government administrator establishing a zonal management of multi-purpose groundwater utilization in Pingtung plain.