Evaluation of irrigation water use efficiency using remote sensing in the middle reach of the Heihe river,in the semi‐arid Northwestern China

Irrigation of agricultural oases is the main water consumer in semi‐arid and arid regions of Northwestern China. The accurate estimation of evapotranspiration (ET) on the oases is extremely important for evaluating water use efficiency so as to reasonably allocate water resources, particularly in semi‐arid and arid areas. In this study, we integrated the soil moisture information into surface energy balance system (SEBS) for improving irrigated crop water consumption estimation. The new approach fed with the moderate resolution imaging spectro‐radiometer images mapped spatiotemporal ET on the oasis in the middle reach of the Heihe river. The daily ET outputs of the new approach were compared with those of the original SEBS using the eddy correlation observations, and the results demonstrate that the modified SEBS remedied the shortcoming of general overestimating ET without regard to soil water stress. Meanwhile, the crop planting structure and leaf area index spatiotemporal distribution in the studied region were derived from the high‐resolution Chinese satellite HJ‐1/CCD images for helping analyse the pattern of the monthly ET (ET_monthly). The results show that the spatiotemporal variation of ET_monthly is closely related to artificial irrigation and crop growth. Further evaluation of current irrigation water use efficiency was conducted on both irrigation district scale and the whole middle reach of the Heihe river. The results reveal that the average fraction of consumed water on irrigation district scale is 57% in 2012. The current irrigation water system is irrational because only 52% of the total irrigated amount was used to fulfil plant ET requirement and the rest of the irrigation water recharged into groundwater in the oasis in 2012. However, in view of the whole middle reach of the Heihe river, the irrigation water use efficiency could reach to 66% in 2012. But pumping groundwater for reused irrigation wastes mostly energy instead of water. An improved irrigation water allocation system according to actual ET requirement is needed to increase irrigation efficiency per cubic meter water resource in an effort to save both water and energy. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Numerically modelling groundwater in an arid area with ANN‐generated dynamic boundary conditions

Groundwater is sensitive to the climate change and agricultural activities in arid and semi‐arid areas. Over the past several decades, human activities, such as groundwater extraction for irrigation, have resulted in aquifer overdraft and disrupted the natural equilibrium in these areas. Regional groundwater simulation is important to determine appropriate groundwater management policies, and numerical simulation has become the most popular method. However, most groundwater models were developed with static boundary conditions. In this research, the Minqin oasis, an arid region located in northwest China, was selected as the study area. An artificial neural network (ANN) was developed to simulate effects of weather conditions, agricultural activities and surface water on groundwater level in a dynamic boundary of the domain. Subsequently, a groundwater numerical model, named ANN‐FEFLOW model, was developed, with a dynamic boundary condition defined by the ANN model. The verifying results showed that the model has higher precision, with a root mean square error (RMSE) of 0·71 m, relative error (RE) of 17·96% and R² of 0·84 relative to the great groundwater change. Furthermore, the groundwater model has higher precision than the conventional groundwater model with static boundary condition, particularly in the area near the dynamic boundary. This study demonstrated that dynamic boundaries can improve the precision of the regional groundwater model in an arid area and that ANN can provide higher accuracy prediction capability for groundwater levels with dynamic boundary. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Recharge estimation using remotely sensed evapotranspiration in an irrigated catchment in southeast Australia

Reliable estimates of groundwater recharge are required for the sustainable management of surface and ground water resources in semi‐arid regions particularly in irrigated regions. In this study, groundwater recharge was estimated for an irrigated catchment in southeast Australia using a semi‐distributed hydrological model (SWAT). The model was calibrated under the dry climatic conditions for the period from August 2002 to July 2003 using flow and remotely sensed evapotranspiration (ET). The model was able to simulate observed monthly drain flow and spatially distributed remotely sensed ET. Recharge tended to be higher for irrigated land covers, such as perennial pasture, than for non‐irrigated land. On average, the estimated annual catchment recharge ranged between 147 and 289 mm which represented about 40% of the total rainfall and irrigation inputs. The optimized soil parameters indirectly reflected flow bypassing the soil matrix that could be responsible for this substantial amount of recharge. Overall, the estimated recharge was much more than that previously estimated for the wetter years. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Groundwater modelling with limited data sets: the Chari–Logone area (Lake Chad Basin,Chad)

One of the most important issues for water resource management is developing strategies for groundwater modelling that are adaptable to data scarcity. These strategies are particularly important in arid and semi‐arid areas where access to data is poor and data collection is difficult, such as the Lake Chad Basin in Africa. In the present study, we establish a numerical groundwater flow model and evaluate the effects of dry and wet periods on groundwater recharge in the Chari–Logone area (96 000 km²) of the Lake Chad Basin. Boundary conditions, flow direction, sources, and sinks for the Chari–Logone local model were obtained by revising and remodelling the Lake Chad Basin regional hydrogeological model (508 400 km²) developed by the BRGM (Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières) in the 1990s. The simulated aquifer water level showed good agreement with observed levels. Aquifer recharge is primarily determined by river–aquifer interactions and mostly occurs in the southern section of the study area. In wet years, groundwater recharge also occurs in the N'Djamena area. The approach we adopted provided relevant results and was useful as an initial step in more detailed modelling of the area. It also proved to be a useful method for groundwater modelling in large semi‐arid and arid regions where available data are scarce. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Integrated water resource management in a major canal command in eastern India

The present rice‐dominated cropping system in the Hirakud canal command (eastern India) is under severe threat due to imbalance between irrigation water supply and demand. The canal water supply, which is the only source of irrigation, only meets 54% of the demand at 90% probability of exceedance (PE). In order to mitigate the irrigation water deficit from canal water, groundwater is considered as a supplemental source. Quasi‐three‐dimensional groundwater flow simulation modelling was, therefore, carried out by using Visual MODFLOW to detect the change in hydraulic head due to transient pumping stresses. The simulation model was calibrated and validated satisfactorily. Sensitivity analysis of the model parameters shows that groundwater recharge is most sensitive followed by aquifer hydraulic conductivity at almost all the sites of the command area, whereas the model is comparatively less sensitive to specific storage and specific yield. Enhanced pumping scenarios showed that groundwater extraction can be increased up to 50 times of the existing pumping without causing any adverse effect to the aquifer but the aquifer does not permit to exploit water in order to fulfill the irrigation water demand even at 10% PE. Hence, it is imperative to develop an optimal land and water resources management plan of the command area. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modelling of the groundwater flow and of tracer movement in the porous and fissured media: Chalk Aquifer (Northern part of Paris Basin,France)

A groundwater flow model has been developed in order to study the chalk aquifer of Paris Basin, based on most of the geological and hydrological available data. The numerical processes are intended to modelling the groundwater flow in the Senonian (Late Cretaceous) formations and to visualize the tracer movement in groundwater resources in the experimental site of LaSalle Beauvais (northern part Paris Basin). Both objectives were achieved as follows: (i) the comprehension of the spatial distribution of the hydraulic conductivity in the chalk aquifer taking into account the characteristics of the hydrogeological system and (ii) the use of the analytical solution for describing one‐dimensional to two‐dimensional solute transport in a unidirectional steady‐state flow tracer with scale‐dependent dispersion. Advection and diffusion mechanisms are taken into account. Comparison between the breakthrough curves of the analytical and the numerical solutions provided an excellent agreement for various ranges of scale‐related transport parameters of interest. The developed power series solution facilitates fast prediction of the breakthrough curves at each observation point. Thus, the derived new solutions are widely applicable and are very useful for the validation of numerical transport. The numerical approach is carried out by MT3DMS, a Modular 3‐D Multi‐Species Transport Model for Simulation of Advection, Dispersion, and Chemical Reactions of Contaminants in Groundwater Systems, and based on total variation‐diminishing method using the ULTIMATE algorithm. The estimation of the infected surface could constitute an approach in water management and allows to prevent the risks of pollution and to manage the groundwater resource from a durable development perspective. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Groundwater Recharge at Five Representative Sites in the Hebei Plain,China

Accurate estimates of groundwater recharge are essential for effective management of groundwater, especially when supplies are limited such as in many arid and semiarid areas. In the Hebei Plain, China, water shortage is increasingly restricting socioeconomic development, especially for agriculture, which heavily relies on groundwater. Human activities have greatly changed groundwater recharge there during the past several decades. To obtain better estimates of recharge in the plain, five representative sites were selected to investigate the effects of irrigation and water table depth on groundwater recharge. At each site, a one‐dimensional unsaturated flow model (Hydrus‐1D) was calibrated using field data of climate, soil moisture, and groundwater levels. A sensitivity analysis of evapotranspirative fluxes and various soil hydraulic parameters confirmed that fine‐textured surface soils generally generate less recharge. Model calculations showed that recharge on average is about 175 mm/year in the piedmont plain to the west, and 133 mm/year in both the central alluvial and lacustrine plains and the coastal plain to the east. Temporal and spatial variations in the recharge processes were significant in response to rainfall and irrigation. Peak time‐lags between infiltration (rainfall plus irrigation) and recharge were 18 to 35 days in the piedmont plain and 3 to 5 days in the central alluvial and lacustrine plains, but only 1 or 2 days in the coastal plain. This implies that different time‐lags corresponding to different water table depths must be considered when estimating or modeling groundwater recharge.     

Evaluation of Bias Associated with Capture Maps Derived from Nonlinear Groundwater Flow Models

The impact of groundwater withdrawal on surface water is a concern of water users and water managers, particularly in the arid western United States. Capture maps are useful tools to spatially assess the impact of groundwater pumping on water sources (e.g., streamflow depletion) and are being used more frequently for conjunctive management of surface water and groundwater. Capture maps have been derived using linear groundwater flow models and rely on the principle of superposition to demonstrate the effects of pumping in various locations on resources of interest. However, nonlinear models are often necessary to simulate head‐dependent boundary conditions and unconfined aquifers. Capture maps developed using nonlinear models with the principle of superposition may over‐ or underestimate capture magnitude and spatial extent. This paper presents new methods for generating capture difference maps, which assess spatial effects of model nonlinearity on capture fraction sensitivity to pumping rate, and for calculating the bias associated with capture maps. The sensitivity of capture map bias to selected parameters related to model design and conceptualization for the arid western United States is explored. This study finds that the simulation of stream continuity, pumping rates, stream incision, well proximity to capture sources, aquifer hydraulic conductivity, and groundwater evapotranspiration extinction depth substantially affect capture map bias. Capture difference maps demonstrate that regions with large capture fraction differences are indicative of greater potential capture map bias. Understanding both spatial and temporal bias in capture maps derived from nonlinear groundwater flow models improves their utility and defensibility as conjunctive‐use management tools.     

Characterising groundwater–surface water interactions in idealised ephemeral stream systems

Transmission losses from the beds of ephemeral streams are thought to be a widespread mechanism of groundwater recharge in arid and semi-arid regions and support a range of dryland hydro-ecology. Dryland areas cover ~40% of the Earth's land surface and groundwater resources are often the main source of freshwater. It is commonly assumed that where an unsaturated zone exists beneath a stream, the interaction between surface water and groundwater is unidirectional and that groundwater does not exert a significant feedback on transmission losses. To test this assumption, we conducted a series of numerical model experiments using idealised two-dimensional channel-transects to assess the sensitivity and degree of interaction between surface and groundwater for typical dryland ephemeral stream geometries, hydraulic properties and flow regimes. We broaden the use of the term ‘stream–aquifer interactions’ to refer not just to fluxes and water exchange but also to include the ways in which the stream and aquifer have a hydraulic effect on one another. Our results indicate that deep water tables, less frequent streamflow events and/or highly permeable sediments tend to result in limited bi-directional hydraulic interaction between the stream and the underlying groundwater which, in turn, results in high amounts of infiltration. With shallower initial depth to the water table, higher streamflow frequency and/or lower bed permeability, greater ‘negative’ hydraulic feedback from the groundwater occurs which in turn results in lower amounts of infiltration. Streambed losses eventually reach a constant rate as initial water table depths increase, but only at depths of 10s of metres in some of the cases studied. Our results highlight that bi-directional stream–aquifer hydraulic interactions in ephemeral streams may be more widespread than is commonly assumed. We conclude that groundwater and surface water should be considered as connected systems for water resource management unless there is clear evidence to the contrary.     

Semi‐Arid Aquifer Responses to Forest Restoration Treatments and Climate Change

The purpose of this study was to develop an interpretive groundwater‐flow model to assess the impacts that planned forest restoration treatments and anticipated climate change will have on large regional, deep (>400 m), semi‐arid aquifers. Simulations were conducted to examine how tree basal area reductions impact groundwater recharge from historic conditions to 2099. Novel spatial analyses were conducted to determine areas and rates of potential increases in groundwater recharge. Changes in recharge were applied to the model by identifying zones of basal area reduction from planned forest restoration treatments and applying recharge‐change factors to these zones. Over a 10‐year period of forest restoration treatment, a 2.8% increase in recharge to one adjacent groundwater basin (the Verde Valley sub‐basin) was estimated, compared to conditions that existed from 2000 to 2005. However, this increase in recharge was assumed to quickly decline after treatment due to regrowth of vegetation and forest underbrush and their associated increased evapotranspiration. Furthermore, simulated increases in groundwater recharge were masked by decreases in water levels, stream baseflow, and groundwater storage resulting from surface water diversions and groundwater pumping. These results indicate that there is an imbalance between water supply and demand in this regional, semi‐arid aquifer. Current water management practices may not be sustainable into the far future and comprehensive action should be taken to minimize this water budget imbalance.     

Closed‐Form Approximations for Two‐Dimensional Groundwater Age Patterns in a Fresh Water Lens

Simple closed‐form approximations are presented for calculating the steady‐state groundwater age distribution in two‐dimensional vertical cross sections of idealized fresh water lenses overlying salt water, for aquifers that are vertically semi‐infinite and of finite thickness. The approximations are developed on the basis of existing one‐dimensional analytical solutions for travel‐time calculation in fresh water lenses and approximate streamline formulations. The two‐dimensional age distributions based on the closed‐form solutions match convincingly with numerical simulations. As expected, notable deviations from the numerical solution are encountered at the groundwater flow divide and when submarine groundwater discharge occurs. Ratios of recharge over hydraulic conductivities are varied to explore how the magnitude of the deviations changes, and it is found that the approximate closed‐form solutions perform well over a range of conditions found in natural systems.     

Prediction of Groundwater Quality Trends Resulting from Anthropogenic Changes in Southeast Florida

The effects of surface water flow system changes caused by constructing water‐conservation areas and canals in southeast Florida on groundwater quality under the Atlantic Coastal Ridge was investigated with numerical modeling. Water quality data were used to delineate a zone of groundwater with low total dissolved solids (TDS) within the Biscayne aquifer under the ridge. The delineated zone has the following characteristics. Its location generally coincides with an area where the Biscayne aquifer has high transmissivities, corresponds to a high recharge area of the ridge, and underlies a part of the groundwater mound formed under the ridge prior to completion of the canals. This low TDS groundwater appears to be the result of pre‐development conditions rather than seepage from the canals constructed after the 1950s. Numerical simulation results indicate that the time for low TDS groundwater under the ridge to reach equilibrium with high TDS surface water in the water‐conservation areas and Everglades National Park are approximately 70 and 60 years, respectively. The high TDS groundwater would be restricted to the water‐conservation areas and the park due to its slow eastward movement caused by small hydraulic gradients in Rocky Glades and its mixing with the low TDS groundwater under the high‐recharge area of the ridge. The flow or physical boundary conditions such as high recharge rates or low hydraulic conductivity layers may affect how the spatial distribution of groundwater quality in an aquifer will change when a groundwater flow system reaches equilibrium with an associated surface water flow system.     

Estimates of spatial variation in evaporation using satellite‐derived surface temperature and a water balance model

Evaporation dominates the water balance in arid and semi‐arid areas. The estimation of evaporation by land‐cover type is important for proper management of scarce water resources. Here, we present a method to assess spatial and temporal patterns of actual evaporation by relating water balance evaporation estimates to satellite‐derived radiometric surface temperature. The method is applied to a heterogeneous landscape in the Krishna River basin in south India using 10‐day composites of NOAA advanced very high‐resolution radiometer satellite imagery. The surface temperature predicts the difference between reference evaporation and modelled actual evaporation well in the four catchments (r² = 0·85 to r² = 0·88). Spatial and temporal variations in evaporation are linked to vegetation type and irrigation. During the monsoon season (June–September), evaporation occurs quite uniformly over the case‐study area (1·7–2·1 mm day^?1), since precipitation is in excess of soil moisture holding capacity, but it is higher in irrigated areas (2·2–2·7 mm day^?1). In the post‐monsoon season (December–March) evaporation is highest in irrigated areas (2·4 mm day^?1). A seemingly reasonable estimate of temporal and spatial patterns of evaporation can be made without the use of more complex and data‐intensive methods; the method also constrains satellite estimates of evaporation by the annual water balance, thereby assuring accuracy at the seasonal and annual time‐scales. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simulating spatiotemporal variability of blue and green water resources availability with uncertainty analysis

Due to rapid socioeconomic development, continuous population growth and urbanization, the world is facing a severe shortage of fresh water, particularly in arid and semi‐arid regions. A lack of water will put pressure on agricultural production, water pollution, as well as eco‐environmental degradation. Traditional water resources assessment mainly focused on blue water, ignoring green water. Therefore, analysis of spatiotemporal distribution of blue and green water resources in arid and semi‐arid regions is of great significance for water resources planning and management, especially for harmonizing agricultural water use and eco‐environmental water requirements. This study applied the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model and the Sequential Uncertainty Fitting algorithm (SUFI‐2) to calibrate and validate the SWAT model based on river discharges in the Wei River, the largest tributary of the Yellow River in China. Uncertainty analysis was also performed to quantify the blue and green water resources availability at different spatial scales. The results showed that most parts of the Wei River basin (WRB) experienced a decrease in blue water resources during the recent 50 years with a minimum value in the 1990s. The decrease is particularly significant in the most southern part of the WRB (the Guanzhong Plain), one of the most important grain production bases in China. Variations of green water flow and green water storage were relatively small both on spatial and temporal dimensions. This study provides strategic information for optimal utilization of water resources in arid and semi‐arid river basin. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Conjunctive use of surface and groundwater in central Asia area: a case study of the Tailan River Basin

Conjunctive use of surface and groundwater is an effective approach to relief water resources shortages and its uneven temporal and spatial distribution in arid inland regions of central Asia. In this paper, 16 characteristic factors of water resources and related systems which are sensitive to different types of conjunctive use were selected in order to develop an index system for evaluation impact of conjunctive use, based on the fundamental types of water resources conjunctive use in inland basins. In an attempt to address the issue of spring drought and summer floods in Tailan River Basin in Xinjiang, three scenarios of conjunctive use of surface water and groundwater, well-canal combination, piedmont reservoirs and groundwater reservoirs were investigated. The utilization of water resources and the response of its related systems were evaluated and analyzed quantitatively using the groundwater numerical simulation model (Visual MODFLOW). Furthermore, the impacts of conjunctive use were assessed using the method of multi-level fuzzy comprehensive assessment. The results show that the scheme of combination of Laolongkou piedmont reservoir regulation-groundwater development, is the best in terms of the evaluation of water conjunctive use effects, followed by the well-canal combination. The comprehensive effect of well-canal combination along with groundwater reservoir wouldn’t be better than the former both.     

On the relationship between historical land‐use change and water availability: the case of the lower Tarim River region in northwestern China

Natural ecosystems in the region of the lower Tarim River in northwestern China strongly deteriorated since the 1950s due to an expanding desertification. As a result, the downstream Tarim River reaches became permanently dry land. This historical evolution in land‐use change is typically the result of the anthropogenic impact on natural ecosystems. On the basis of a spatially distributed hydrological catchment model bidirectionally linked with a fully hydrodynamic MIKE11 river model, land‐use changes characterized by historical changes in leaf area index (LAI) of vegetation, as well as the evolution of irrigated surface areas, can be causally related to changes in water resources (groundwater storage and surface water resources). An increased surface area of irrigated (agricultural) land, together with a majority of inefficient irrigation methods, did lead to a strong increase of water resources consumption of the farmlands located in the upper Tarim River area. Evidently, this evolution influenced available water resources downstream in the Tarim basin. As a result, farmland has been gradually relocated to the upstream regions. This has led to reduced flows from the upper Tarim stream, which subsequently accelerated the dropping of the groundwater level downstream in the basin. This study moreover demonstrates that land surface biomass changes (cumulative LAI) along the lower Tarim River are strongly related to the changes in groundwater storage. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modelling study on the impact of deep building foundations on the groundwater system

Coastal areas are usually the preferred place of habitation for human beings. Anthropogenic activities such as the construction of high‐rise buildings and underground transport systems usually require extensive deep foundations and ground engineering works, which may unintentionally modify the coastal groundwater system because the construction materials of foundations are usually of low hydraulic conductivity. In this paper, the impact of these building foundations on the groundwater regime is studied using hypothetical flow and transport models. Various possible realizations of foundation distributions are generated using stochastic parameters derived from a topographical map of an actual coastal area in Hong Kong. The effective hydraulic conductivity is first calculated for different realizations and the results show that the effective hydraulic conductivity can be reduced significantly. Then a hypothetical numerical model based on FEFLOW is set up to study the change of hydraulic head, groundwater discharge, and saltwater‐fresh water interface. The groundwater level and flow are modified to various degrees, depending on the foundations percentage and the distribution pattern of the buildings. When the foundations percentage is high and the building foundations are aggregated, the hydraulic head is raised significantly and the originally one‐dimensional groundwater flow field becomes complicated. Seaward groundwater discharge will be reduced and some groundwater may become seepage through the ground surface. The transport model shows that, after foundations are added, overall the seawater and fresh groundwater interface moves landward, so extensive foundations may induce seawater intrusion. It is believed that the modification of the coastal groundwater system by building foundations may have engineering and environmental implications, such as submarine groundwater discharge, foundation corrosion, and slope stability. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A review of the numerical modelling of salt mobilization from groundwater-surface water interactions

Salinization of land and water is a significant challenge in most continents and particularly in arid and semi-arid regions. The need to accurately forecast surface and groundwater interactions has promoted the use of physically-based numerical modelling approaches in many studies. In this regard, two issues can be considered as the main research challenges. First, in contrast with surface water, there is generally less observed level and salinity data available for groundwater systems. These data are critical in the validation and verification of numerical models. The second challenge is to develop an integrated surface-groundwater numerical model that is capable of salt mobilization modelling but which can be validated and verified against accurate observed data. This paper reviews the current state of understanding of groundwater and surface water interactions with particular respect to the numerical modelling of salt mobilization. 3D physically-based fully coupled surface-subsurface numerical model with the capability of modelling density-dependent, saturated-unsaturated solute transport is an ideal tool for groundwater-surface water interaction studies. It is concluded that there is a clear need to develop modelling capabilities for the movement of salt to, from, and within wetlands to provide temporal predictions of wetland salinity which can be used to assess ecosystem outcomes.     

Predicting catchment flow in a semi‐arid region via an artificial neural network technique

A model of rainfall–runoff relationships is an essential tool in the process of evaluation of water resources projects. In this paper, we applied an artificial neural network (ANN) based model for flow prediction using the data for a catchment in a semi‐arid region in Morocco. Use of this method for non‐linear modelling has been demonstrated in several scientific fields such as biology, geology, chemistry and physics. The performance of the developed neural network‐based model was compared against multiple linear regression‐based model using the same observed data. It was found that the neural network model consistently gives superior predictions. Based on the results of this study, artificial neural network modelling appears to be a promising technique for the prediction of flow for catchments in semi‐arid regions. Accordingly, the neural network method can be applied to various hydrological systems where other models may be inappropriate. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modelling the impact of extensive irrigation on the groundwater resources

Drastic groundwater resource depletion due to excessive extraction for irrigation is a major concern in many parts of India. In this study, an attempt was made to simulate the groundwater scenario of the catchment using ArcSWAT. Due to the restriction on the maximum initial storage, the deep aquifer component in ArcSWAT was found to be insufficient to represent the excessive groundwater depletion scenario. Hence, a separate water balance model was used for simulating the deep aquifer water table. This approach is demonstrated through a case study for the Malaprabha catchment in India. Multi‐site rainfall data was used to represent the spatial variation in the catchment climatology. Model parameters were calibrated using observed monthly stream flow data. Groundwater table simulation was validated using the qualitative information available from the field. The stream flow was found to be well simulated in the model. The simulated groundwater table fluctuation is also matching reasonably well with the field observations. From the model simulations, deep aquifer water table fluctuation was found very severe in the semi‐arid lower parts of the catchment, with some areas showing around 60 m depletion over a period of eight years. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.