Development of a groundwater Well Network System for efficient agricultural water supply during drought

The Well Network System (WNS) is an efficient water supply technology through the linkage between wells based on ICT technology during drought, and it can resolve the imbalance of water resources between regions caused by different amounts of groundwater supply. In this study, in order to evaluate the effect of increasing water supply efficiency by the WNS, the WNS platform including remote control technology and a decision-making algorithm, for 5 years (2018-2022), was developed and was empirically evaluated. The study area is Yanggok-ri, Seobu-myeon, Hongseong-gun, Chungcheongnam-do, where drought frequently occurs. The area is supplied water from reservoirs and Hongseongho Lake due to locally the lower available groundwater capacity, despite the high dependence on groundwater. Considering the characteristics of these study areas, the WNS facility was built by reflecting the hydrogeological characteristics of the aquifer through the site investigation and the quantitiesof demand/supply identified at each area. The WNS makes it possible to supply groundwater efficiently through remote control of on-site facilities through a web-based platform and through automatic facility operation algorithms and to control water distribution according to drought scenarios (normal times or drought periods) through decision-making algorithms. As a result of field empirical evaluation for the efficiency of WNS, it was confirmed that the water supply of SP-1 and SP-2 wells (located in areas with well-developed aquifers) increased by 50% and 44%, respectively, by operating WNS compared to not operating WNS.