A simulation on the recovery of groundwater level in Beijing Plain after the implementation of South-to-North Water Transferring Project

As the rapid development of social economy in recent years, the situation of water shortages is more and more severe in Beijing, which leads to a severe situation of groundwater overexploitation. After the middle route of the South-to-North Water Transferring Project (SNWTP) is put into effect in 2014, the quantity of water supply in Beijing will be increased by 10×10⁸m³ each year, and the exploitation of groundwater can be reduced. This paper analyses the hydro-geological condition of the Beijing Plain and uses groundwater model software, Feflow, to set up three-dimension groundwater numerical simulation model which is characterized by five continuous, heterogeneous, and anisotropic aquifers. The model is calibrated by using the data in 2000, and validated in 1992. We apply Feflow to simulate, under four schemes for groundwater level recovery based on the analysis of the balance between water resources supply and demands in Beijing in 2015, the dynamics of the groundwater flow field in 10 years. The result indicates that in the areas where groundwater exploitation is restricted, the groundwater level rebounds in various degrees.