Optimal schemes of groundwater exploitation for prevention of seawater intrusion in the Leizhou Peninsula in southern China

The Lei-Qiong Depression Zone, near the Leizhou Peninsula in southern China, consists of unconsolidated sediments of 500-3,000 m thickness. Groundwater occurs in a multi-aquifer system in the Leizhou Peninsula. The aquifers receive recharge from precipitation, canal and reservoir infiltration, and discharge mainly through subterranean drainage into the sea. Artificial pumping for drinking and agricultural purposes is another way of groundwater discharge. Groundwater development along the coast faces the threat of seawater intrusion. A quasi-three-dimensional finite element model, containing 457 nodes and 833 elements, has been used to simulate the spatial and temporal distribution of groundwater levels in the three-aquifer system. Verification of various aquifer parameters and boundary conditions was performed with the simulation model. Linear programming models have been developed for groundwater exploitation within the two confined aquifers. The objective function of the models is to maximize the total groundwater pumpage from the confined aquifers. Control of seawater intrusion is examined by restricting the water levels at points along the coast and the withdrawal rates in coastal management cells. A response matrix approach was used in the optimization models. The response matrix was obtained from the simulation model by forecasting drawdown produced by pumping at a unit impulse discharge. Groundwater development in the Leizhou Peninsula can be primarily optimized by allocating the pumping rates of the management cells.