Modelling the impact of surface water management on water conservation and water quality

A combined surface water-groundwater model was developed to investigate a new water management strategy focused on water conservation and improvement of water quality. This new strategy aims at more natural conditions by implementing a surface water control allowing for higher water level dynamics than has been common practice. A more flexible surface water level control was simulated using an adapted MODFLOW RIVER package in which the fixed river stage is replaced by a band width. Furthermore, a surface water model (QROUTE) was developed that simulates the routing of surface water through a system as a result of net infiltration and drainage in a number of distinct regions, QROUTE also calculates conservative transport resulting from surface water and groundwater components. The adapted RIVER package and the surface water-groundwater model were applied to Reeuwijk, a polder area in the Netherlands.