Parameterization of a National Groundwater Model for New Zealand

James Griffiths (), Jing Yang, Ross Woods, Christian Zammit, Rasool Porhemmat, Ude Shankar, Channa Rajanayaka, Jeffrey Ren and Nicholas Howden
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James Griffiths: National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research Ltd. (NIWA), Christchurch 8011, New Zealand
Jing Yang: National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research Ltd. (NIWA), Christchurch 8011, New Zealand
Ross Woods: Department of Civil Engineering, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TR, UK
Christian Zammit: National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research Ltd. (NIWA), Christchurch 8011, New Zealand
Rasool Porhemmat: National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research Ltd. (NIWA), Christchurch 8011, New Zealand
Ude Shankar: National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research Ltd. (NIWA), Christchurch 8011, New Zealand
Channa Rajanayaka: National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research Ltd. (NIWA), Christchurch 8011, New Zealand
Jeffrey Ren: National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research Ltd. (NIWA), Christchurch 8011, New Zealand
Nicholas Howden: Department of Civil Engineering, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TR, UK

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 17, 1-20

Abstract: Groundwater is a vital source of water for humanity, with up to 50% of global drinking water and 43% of irrigation water being derived from such sources. Quantitative assessment and accounting of groundwater is essential to ensure its sustainable management and use. TopNet-GW is a parsimonious groundwater model that was developed to provide groundwater simulation at national, regional, and local scales across New Zealand. At a national scale, the model can help local government authorities estimate groundwater resource reliability within and between regions. However, as many catchments are ungauged, the model cannot be calibrated to local conditions against observed data. This paper, therefore, describes a method to derive an a priori, reach-scale groundwater model parameter set from national-scale hydrogeological datasets. The parameter set includes coefficients of lateral (k l ) and vertical (k r ) conductivity and effective aquifer storage (S). When the parameter set was used with the TopNet-GW model in the Wairau catchment in the Marlborough region (South Island, New Zealand), it produced a poor representation of peak river flows but a more accurate representation of low flows (overall NSE 0.64). The model performance decreased in the smaller Opawa catchment (NSE 0.39). It is concluded that the developed a priori parameter set can be used to provide national groundwater modeling capability in ungauged catchments but should be used with caution, and model performance would benefit greatly from local scale calibration. The parameter derivation method is repeatable globally if analogous hydrological and geological information is available and thus provides a basis for the parameterization of groundwater models in ungauged catchments. Future research will assess the spatial variability of parameter performance at a national scale in New Zealand.

Keywords: groundwater; modelling; a priori; national model; geology; parameterization; regional; New Zealand; data aggragation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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