Submit to Water Review for Water Propose a Special Issue

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser

River Ecological Restoration and Groundwater Artificial Recharge

Print Special Issue Flyer
Special Issue Editors
Special Issue Information
Keywords
Published Papers

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Hydrology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2022) | Viewed by 31374

Printed Edition Available!
A printed edition of this Special Issue is available here.

Special issue River Ecological Restoration and Groundwater Artificial Recharge book cover image

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Yuanzheng Zhai

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

College of Water Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
Interests: hydrogeology; hydrogeochemistry; environmental hydrogeology; riverbank filtration; geogenic pollution; anthropogenic pollution; groundwater pollution; groundwater remediation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Jin Wu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Faculty of Architecture, Civil and Transportation Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing 100124, China
Interests: groundwater monitoring; groundwater quality assessment; risk assessment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Huaqing Wang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Laboratory of Waves and Complex Media, UMR CNRS 6294, University of Le Havre Normandy, Le Havre, France
Interests: water security and management

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

There is a strong relationship between river and groundwater in nature. With the large-scale exploitation of riverside groundwater resources, this has caused adverse ecological impacts on the river and groundwater environment, such as water table depression, land subsidence, dried up rivers and even dry-up, and vegetation degradation. Using ecological replenishment of the river to increase groundwater recharge is an important method of managed aquifer recharge (MAR), which can effectively solve the problem of groundwater overextraction, increase river flow, and improve water quality. There are still many scientific and technical problems due to the diversity of replenishment water sources and the complexity of the infiltration process and hydrogeochemical reactions, although many such water replenishment practices have been carried out worldwide—for example, the clogging of the infiltration process, the groundwater quality change caused by unpredictable hydrogeochemical reactions, the underground fate of emerging pollutants introduced by replenishment water, the coupled model construction of river–groundwater under water replenishment condition, and so on. In addition, an evaluation of the effect of river ecological replenishment on groundwater resources recharge, risk assessment of land subsidence and urban safety, and impact assessment of the groundwater environment are also urgently needed.

Prof. Dr. Yuanzheng Zhai
Prof. Dr. Jin Wu
Prof. Dr. Huaqing Wang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

managed aquifer recharge (MAR)
hydrogeochemistry in MAR
risk assessment
hydraulic clogging
land subsidence
coupled model
emerging contaminants

Published Papers (11 papers)

Download All Papers

Editorial

Jump to: Research, Review

2 pages, 150 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

River Ecological Restoration and Groundwater Artificial Recharge

by Yuanzheng Zhai, Jin Wu and Huaqing Wang

Water 2022, 14(7), 1144; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w14071144 - 02 Apr 2022

Viewed by 1562

Abstract

There is an extensive water exchange between river water and groundwater in natural conditions [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue River Ecological Restoration and Groundwater Artificial Recharge)

Research

Jump to: Editorial, Review

13 pages, 5355 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Groundwater Recharge Modeling under Water Diversion Engineering: A Case Study in Beijing

by Mingyan Zhao, Xiangbo Meng, Boxin Wang, Dasheng Zhang, Yafeng Zhao and Ruyi Li

Water 2022, 14(6), 985; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w14060985 - 21 Mar 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3155

Abstract

The influence of surface water resource exploitation and utilization projects on groundwater has been widely studied. Surface water diversion projects lead to a reduction in river discharge, which changes the recharge of groundwater systems. In this study, the numerical simulation method is used to predict the variation in groundwater level under different diversion scale scenarios. The Zhangfang water diversion project in Beijing, China, was chosen for the case study. The downstream plain area of the Zhangfang water diversion project is modeled by MODFLOW to predict the influence of reducing water diversion on the dynamic change in the groundwater level in the downstream plain area. The model results show that the difference in groundwater recharge and discharge on the downstream plain of Zhangfang is 9,991,900 m³/a, which is in a negative water balance state, and the groundwater level continues to decrease. Reducing the amount of water diverted by the Zhangfang water diversion project to replenish groundwater is beneficial to the rise of the groundwater level in the downstream plain area. The results indicate that the groundwater flow model in the downstream plain area of Zhangfang performed well in the influence assessment of surface water resource exploitation and utilization projects on groundwater. This study also provides a good example of how to coordinate the relationship between surface water resources and groundwater resources. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue River Ecological Restoration and Groundwater Artificial Recharge)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

23 pages, 6295 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Research on Water Resources Allocation System Based on Rational Utilization of Brackish Water

by Dasheng Zhang, Xinmin Xie, Ting Wang, Boxin Wang and Shasha Pei

Water 2022, 14(6), 948; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w14060948 - 17 Mar 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2032

Abstract

The rational utilization of unconventional water sources is of great significance to areas where conventional water resources are scarce, and water resource allocation is an important way to realize the rational distribution of multiple water sources. This paper constructs a water resources allocation system integrating model data parameter database, water resources supply and demand prediction module, groundwater numerical simulation module and water resources allocation module. Taking brackish water as the main research object and final goal of achieving the best comprehensive optimization of social, economic and ecological benefits. The brackish water is incorporated as an independent water source into the water resource allocation model, and the stratum structure model and groundwater numerical model are constructed to simulate the brackish water level in the planning target year. The water resources allocation system is applied to Guantao County, China. The results show that increasing the development and utilization of brackish water under the recommended scheme can significantly reduce the water supply pressure of local fresh water resources in agriculture and industry. Compared with the current year, the overall water shortage in the region will be reduced by 4.493 × 10⁶ m³ in 2030, and meanwhile, the brackish water level will be decreased by 12.69 m in 2035, which plays a positive role in improving soil salinization. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue River Ecological Restoration and Groundwater Artificial Recharge)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

25 pages, 5891 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A SEEC Model Based on the DPSIR Framework Approach for Watershed Ecological Security Risk Assessment: A Case Study in Northwest China

by Bin Wang, Fang Yu, Yanguo Teng, Guozhi Cao, Dan Zhao and Mingyan Zhao

Water 2022, 14(1), 106; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w14010106 - 04 Jan 2022

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3350

Abstract

The DPSIR model is a conceptual model established by the European Environment Agency to solve environmental problems. It provides an overall framework for analysis of environmental problems from five aspects: driving force (D), pressure (P), state (S), impact (I), and response (R). Through use of the DPSIR model framework, this paper presents the SEEC model approach for evaluating watershed ecological security. The SEEC model considers four aspects: socioeconomic impact (S), ecological health (E), ecosystem services function (E), and control management (C). Through screening, 38 evaluation indicators of the SEEC model were determined. The evaluation results showed that the ecological security index of the study area was >80, indicating a generally safe level. The lowest score was mainly attributable to the low rate of treatment of rural domestic sewage. The water quality status was used to evaluate the applicability of the SEEC model, and the calculation results indicated that the higher the score of the ecological security evaluation results, the better the water quality status. The findings show that the SEEC model demonstrates satisfactory applicability to evaluation of watershed ecological security. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue River Ecological Restoration and Groundwater Artificial Recharge)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

22 pages, 5331 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluation of Groundwater Suitability for Irrigation and Drinking Purposes in an Agricultural Region of the North China Plain

by Haipeng Guo, Muzi Li, Lu Wang, Yunlong Wang, Xisheng Zang, Xiaobing Zhao, Haigang Wang and Juyan Zhu

Water 2021, 13(23), 3426; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w13233426 - 03 Dec 2021

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2857

Abstract

Groundwater is an irreplaceable resource for irrigation and drinking in the North China Plain, and the quality of groundwater is of great importance to human health and social development. In this study, using the information from 59 groups of groundwater samples, groundwater quality conditions for irrigation and drinking purposes in an agricultural region of the North China Plain were analyzed. The groundwater belongs to a Quaternary loose rock pore water aquifer. The depths of shallow groundwater wells are 20–150 m below the surface, while the depths of deep groundwater wells are 150–650 m. The sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), sodium percentage (%Na), residual sodium carbonate (RSC), magnesium hazard (MH), permotic index (PI) and electrical conductivity (EC) were selected as indexes to evaluate the shallow groundwater suitability for irrigation. What’s more, the deep groundwater suitability for drinking was assessed and the human health risk of excessive chemicals in groundwater was studied. Results revealed that SAR, Na% and RSC indexes indicated the applicability of shallow groundwater for agricultural irrigation in the study area. We found 57.1% of the shallow groundwater samples were located in high salinity with a low sodium hazard zone. The concentrations of fluorine (F⁻) in 79.0% of the deep groundwater samples and iodine (I⁻) in 21.1% of the deep groundwater samples exceeded the permissible limits, respectively. The total hazard quotient (HQ) values of fluorine in over half of the deep groundwater samples exceeded the safety limits, and the health risk degree was ranked from high to low as children, adult females and adult males. In addition to natural factors, the soil layer compression caused by groundwater over-exploitation increased the fluorine concentration in groundwater. Effective measures are needed to reduce the fluorine content of the groundwater of the study area. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue River Ecological Restoration and Groundwater Artificial Recharge)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

12 pages, 3382 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Distribution, Formation and Human Health Risk of Fluorine in Groundwater in Songnen Plain, NE China

by Jianwei Wang, Nengzhan Zheng, Hong Liu, Xinyi Cao, Yanguo Teng and Yuanzheng Zhai

Water 2021, 13(22), 3236; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w13223236 - 15 Nov 2021

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 1985

Abstract

Songnen Plain is one of the three great plains in northeast China with abundant groundwater resources. The continuous population growth and the rapid development of agriculture and economy in China has caused a series of environmental problems in the plain, such as endemic diseases caused by the accumulation of harmful substances in drinking water. This paper conducts a systematic investigation of fluorine in the groundwater of Songnen Plain. The results showed that fluorine was widespread in the groundwater of the plain in the concentration range of BDL–8.54 mg·L⁻¹, at a mean value of 0.63 mg·L⁻¹ and detectable at a rate of 85.91%. The highest concentrations of fluorine were found in central and southwest areas of the plain. The concentration exceeded the guideline values for fluorine in drinking water and may have varying degrees of adverse effects on adults, and especially children, in the study area. The fluorine in groundwater mainly came from the dissolution of fluorite and other fluorine-containing minerals, and the concentrations and distribution of fluorine were affected by cation exchange, groundwater flow field and hydrochemical indexes (pH, TDS and HCO₃⁻). The study provides scientific basis for the investigation, evaluation and prevention of endemic diseases caused by fluorine. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue River Ecological Restoration and Groundwater Artificial Recharge)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

16 pages, 2370 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Research on the Application of Typical Biological Chain for Algal Control in Lake Ecological Restoration—A Case Study of Lianshi Lake in Yongding River

by Pengfei Zhang, Xiaoyu Cui, Huihuang Luo, Wenqi Peng and Yunxia Gao

Water 2021, 13(21), 3079; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w13213079 - 02 Nov 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1605

Abstract

Maintaining the health of lake ecosystems is an urgent issue. However, eutrophication seriously affects lakes’ ecological functions. Eutrophication is also the main target of lake ecological restoration. It is vital to carry out research on lake eutrophication control and energy flow evaluation in ecosystems scientifically. Based on in situ survey results for the aquatic life data for Lianshi Lake from 2018 to 2019, the Ecopath model was used to establish an evaluation index system for the typical biological chain to screen out the key species in the water ecosystem, and the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation (FCE) method was used to screen all the biological chains controlling algae. A combination of the FCE coupled with the Ecopath screening method for typical biological chains for algal control was applied to the Lianshi Lake area; the results show that the typical biological chain for algal control is phytoplankton (Phyt)–zooplankton (Zoop)–macrocrustaceans (Macc)–other piscivorous (OthP). Upon adjusting the biomass of Zoop and Macc in the typical biological chain for algal control to three times that of the current status, the ecological nutrition efficiency of Phyt was increased from 0.308 to 0.906. The material flow into the second trophic level from primary producers increased from 3043 to 8283 t/km²/year. The amount of detritus flowing into primary producers for sedimentation decreased from 7618 to 2378 t/km²/year. Finally, the total primary production/total respiratory volume (TPP/TR) decreased from 9.224 to 3.403, the Finn’s cycle index (FCI) increased from 13.6% to 17.5%, and the Finn’s average energy flow path length (FCL) increased from 2.854 to 3.410. The results suggest that the problem of eutrophication can be solved by introducing Zoop (an algal predator) and Macc to a large extent, resulting in improved ecosystem maturity. The research results can facilitate decision making for the restoration of urban lake water ecosystems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue River Ecological Restoration and Groundwater Artificial Recharge)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

15 pages, 7026 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluation of the Impact of Ecological Water Supplement on Groundwater Restoration Based on Numerical Simulation: A Case Study in the Section of Yongding River, Beijing Plain

by Zijian Ji, Yali Cui, Shouquan Zhang, Wan Chao and Jingli Shao

Water 2021, 13(21), 3059; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w13213059 - 02 Nov 2021

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2064

Abstract

Ecological water supplement relies on river channels to introduce surface water, to make a reasonable supplement of groundwater, to repair the regional groundwater environment and urban river ecosystem. Evaluating the degree of groundwater restoration after ecological water supplement (by taking appropriate measures) is a critical problem that needs to be solved. Thus, based on the Yongding River ecological water supplement in 2019 and 2020, we analyzed the groundwater monitoring situates in the ecological water supplement region. We established an unstructured groundwater flow numerical model in the study area through the quadtree grids. The model was calibrated with the measured water level. The simulated results could accurately reflect the real groundwater dynamic characteristics, and it showed that the water level rise was concentrated in the 3–6 km range of the Yongding River after the ecological water supplement. In 2019, the calculated ecological water infiltration amount was 101.28 × 10⁶ m³, the affected area was 265.19 km², and the average groundwater level rise in the affected area was 2.10 m. In 2020, the calculated ecological water infiltration amount was 102.64 × 10⁶ m³, the affected area was 506.88 km², and the average groundwater level rise in the affected area was 1.25 m. While the ecological water supplement had a positive impact on groundwater level restoration, the groundwater level around the typical buildings within the study area, including Beijing West Railway Station and Beijing Daxing International Airport, would not be significantly affected. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue River Ecological Restoration and Groundwater Artificial Recharge)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

17 pages, 4369 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Uncertain Analysis of Fuzzy Evaluation Model for Water Resources Carrying Capacity: A Case Study in Zanhuang County, North China Plain

by Yinxin Ge, Jin Wu, Dasheng Zhang, Ruitao Jia and Haotian Yang

Water 2021, 13(20), 2804; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w13202804 - 09 Oct 2021

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 2145

Abstract

The scientific and accurate evaluation of water resources carrying capacity has good social, environmental and resource benefits. Reasonable selection of evaluation parameters is the key step to realize efficient and sustainable development of water resources. Taking Zanhuang County in the North China Plain as the research area, this study selected fuzzy comprehensive evaluation models with different weights in the established evaluation index framework to explore the sources of uncertainty affecting the evaluation results of water resources carrying capacity. By using the sensitivity analysis method of index weight, the index with the biggest influence factor on the evaluation result is selected to reduce the uncertainty problems such as index redundancy and small correlation degree. The results show that the correlation and reliable of comprehensive evaluation value obtained by different weight methods is different. The evaluation result obtained by using the analytic hierarchy process is more relevant than the entropy weight method, and it is more consistent with the actual load-bearing situation. The study of sensitivity index shows that water area index is the biggest factor affecting the change of evaluation results, and water resources subsystem and socio-economic subsystem play a dominant role in the whole evaluation framework. The results show that strengthening the data quality control of index assignment and weight method is helpful to reduce the error of water resources carrying capacity evaluation. It can also provide scientific basis for the improvement of fuzzy evaluation model. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue River Ecological Restoration and Groundwater Artificial Recharge)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

23 pages, 47240 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Hydrochemical Characteristics and Evolution of Groundwater in the Alluvial Plain (Anqing Section) of the Lower Yangtze River Basin: Multivariate Statistical and Inversion Model Analyses

by Qiaohui Che, Xiaosi Su, Shixiong Wang, Shida Zheng and Yunfeng Li

Water 2021, 13(17), 2403; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w13172403 - 31 Aug 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2851

Abstract

The alluvial plain (Anqing section) of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River basin is facing increasing groundwater pollution, not only threatening the safety of drinking water for local residents and the sustainable development and utilization of groundwater resources but also the ecological security of the Yangtze River Basin. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct a preliminary analysis on the hydrochemical characteristics and evolution law of groundwater in this area. This study aimed to evaluate potential hydrogeochemical processes affecting the groundwater quality of this area by analyzing major ions in groundwater samples collected in 2019. Compositional relationships were determined to assess the origin of solutes and confirm the predominant hydrogeochemical processes controlling various ions in groundwater. Moreover, factors influencing groundwater quality were evaluated through the factor analysis method, and the control range of each influencing factor was analyzed using the distribution characteristics of factor scores. Finally, reverse hydrogeochemical simulation was carried out on typical profiles to quantitatively analyze the hydrochemical evolution process along flow paths. The Piper trilinear diagram revealed two prevalent hydrochemical facies, Ca-HCO₃ type (phreatic water) and Ca-Na-HCO₃ type (confined water) water. Based on the compositional relationships, the ions could be attributed to leaching (dissolution of rock salt, carbonate, and sulfate), evaporation and condensation, and cation exchange. Four influencing factors of phreatic water and confined water were extracted. The results of this study are expected to help understand the hydrochemical characteristics and evolution law of groundwater in the alluvial plain (Anqing section) of the lower Yangtze River basin for effective management and utilization of groundwater resources, and provide basic support for the ecological restoration of the Yangtze River Basin. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue River Ecological Restoration and Groundwater Artificial Recharge)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Editorial, Research

18 pages, 2623 KiB

Open AccessReview

Further Discussion on the Influence Radius of a Pumping Well: A Parameter with Little Scientific and Practical Significance That Can Easily Be Misleading

by Yuanzheng Zhai, Xinyi Cao, Ya Jiang, Kangning Sun, Litang Hu, Yanguo Teng, Jinsheng Wang and Jie Li

Water 2021, 13(15), 2050; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/w13152050 - 28 Jul 2021

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 5726

Abstract

To facilitate understanding and calculation, hydrogeologists have introduced the influence radius. This parameter is now widely used, not only in the theoretical calculation and reasoning of well flow mechanics, but also in guiding production practice, and it has become an essential parameter in hydrogeology. However, the reasonableness of this parameter has always been disputed. This paper discusses the nature of the influence radius and the problems of its practical application based on mathematical reasoning and analogy starting from the Dupuit formula and Thiem formula. It is found that the influence radius is essentially the distance in the time–distance problem in physics; therefore, it is a function of time and velocity and is influenced by hydrogeological conditions and pumping conditions. Additionally, the influence radius is a variable and is essentially different from the hydrogeological parameters reflecting the natural properties of aquifers such as the porosity, specific yield, and hydraulic conductivity. Furthermore, the parameterized influence radius violates the continuity principle of fluids. In reality, there are no infinite horizontal aquifers, and most aquifers are replenished from external sources, which is very different from theory. The stable or seemingly stable groundwater level observed in practice is simply a coincidence that occurs under the influence of various practical factors, which cannot be considered to explain the rationality of applying this parameter in production calculations. Therefore, the influence radius cannot be used to evaluate the sustainable water supply capacity of aquifers, nor can it be used to guide the design of groundwater pollution remediation projects, the division of water source protection areas, and the scheme of riverbank filtration wells. Various ecological and environmental problems caused by groundwater exploitation are related to misleading information from the influence radius theory. Generally, the influence radius does not have scientific or practical significance, but it can easily be misleading, particularly for non-professionals. The influence radius should not be used in the sustainable development and protection of groundwater resources, let alone in theoretical models. From the perspective of regional overall planning, the calculation and evaluation of sustainable development and the utilization of groundwater resources should be investigated in a systematic manner. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue River Ecological Restoration and Groundwater Artificial Recharge)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

River Ecological Restoration and Groundwater Artificial Recharge

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editors

Special Issue Information

Keywords

Published Papers (11 papers)

Editorial

Research

Review

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI