Development of an efficient method to evaluate the optimal location of groundwater dam

In this study, a data-driven response surface method using the results acquired from the numerical simulation is developed to evaluate the potential storage capacity of groundwater due to the construction of a groundwater dam. The hydraulic conductivities of alluvium and basement rock, depth and slope of the channel are considered as the natural conditions of the location for groundwater dam construction. In particular, the probability models of the hydraulic conductivities and the various types of geometry of the channel are considered to ensure the reliability of the numerical simulation and the generality of the developed estimation model. As the results of multiple simulations, it can be seen that the hydraulic conductivity of basement rock and the depth of the channel greatly influence to the groundwater storage capacity. In contrast, the slope of the channel along the groundwater flow direction shows a relatively lower impact on the storage capacity. Based on the considered natural conditions and the corresponding numerical simulation results, the storage capacity estimation model is developed applying an artificial neural network as the nonlinear regression model for training. The developed estimation model shows a high correlation coefficient (>0.9) between the simulated and the estimated storage amount. This result indicates the superiority of the developed model in evaluating the storage capacity of the potential location for groundwater dam construction without the numerical simulation. Therefore, a more objective and efficient comparison for the storage capacity between the different potential locations can be possibly made based on the developed estimation model. In line with this, the proposed method can be an effective tool to assess the optimal location of groundwater dam construction across Korea.