Introduction

An analytical groundwater modeling approach for natural resources utilizing GIS

An analytical groundwater modeling approach for natural resources utilizing GIS

CP-1995-02
An analytical groundwater modeling approach for natural resources utilizing GIS

Oloufa, A.A., A.I. El-Kadi, A.A. Eltahan, and H.U. Malik

Successful water resource management requires the availability and synthesis of data from a multitude of sources. The system should also be capable of retrieving data related to these aspects in a format suitable for analysis by various simulation models. The objective is to store the required data pertaining to the various water and environmental resources in a flexible format that is simple to update, and to utilize a technology capable of linking the various parameters in an intuitive visual format. The technology of geographical information systems (GIS) offers such an approach. This paper discusses the design, development, and implementation of a GIS for water resources information management and modeling. Ease of use, portability, and data shareability are some of the major factors considered in the design of our system. For this pilot project, databases for soil types, water wells, aquifer classifications, rainfall rates, and streams are used as the underlying databases. Utilization of the GIS as a shell for analytical groundwater modeling is also presented.