Sustainable groundwater management in Kinmen Island

• Published in: Hydrological processes Vol. 20; no. 20; pp. 4363 - 4372
• Main Authors: Liu, Chen-Wuing, Lin, Chun-Nan, Jang, Cheng-Shin, Chen, Chan-Po, Chang, Jen-Fu, Fan, Chen-Chun, Lou, Kuo-Hiang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 30.12.2006; Wiley
• Subjects: Earth sciences; Earth, ocean, space; Exact sciences and technology; groundwater management; Hydrology. Hydrogeology; Kinmen; safe yield; Sorghum; sustainable; Far East; China; Taiwan; Taiwan, Kinmen I; sea water; rainfall; sustainable; ground water; water table; water supply; infiltration; pumping; surface water; Kinmen; precipitation; pipelines; water resources; aquifers; safe yield; Asia; management; islands; groundwater management; annual average; populations
• ISSN: 0885-6087; 1099-1085
• DOI: 10.1002/hyp.6171

Kinmen county is located in the southwest of Fujen province, China. It comprises Kinmen, Leiyu and other small islands. Its total area is around 150 km2. Kinmen is the largest island, and 95% of the population resides there. The average annual precipitation is 1072 mm. Rainfall is concentrated in a 5 month period from mid‐April to mid‐September. Water resources are limited relative to demand. Eastern Kinmen utilizes surface water, whereas western Kinmen uses groundwater. Moreover, the Kinmen sorghum liquor is brewed using the native groundwater in the west of the island. MODFLOW‐96 was used to simulate the groundwater distribution and determine the annual amount of infiltration, pumping, and boundary inflow and outflow. Additionally, a groundwater management index was adopted to evaluate the status of groundwater level change, thus allowing local government officials to adjust the pumping scheme dynamically. To achieve a sustainable groundwater supply in Kinmen, an integrated groundwater extraction plan was proposed. This plan includes enhancing the infiltration by using treated wastewater from the east of the island, monitoring the groundwater level change, adjusting the groundwater pumping scheme, and constructing seawater desalination plants. If the hostile confrontation between Taiwan and mainland China is resolved, then the water supply through an undersea pipeline from Sharmen, China, to Kinmen can be another potential source of water for Kinmen in the future. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.