Towards integrated groundwater management: flow model of the East Frisian peninsula, Germany

Growing challenges in water supply management under the influence of global change increasingly require cross-institutional, regional and permanently established groundwater flow models for informing and coordinating different groundwater management actors and projects. The presented flow model for the East Frisian peninsula is a first step towards such a regionally integrated groundwater management approach. The steady-state flow model is based on a geological model created from more than 28,000 borehole profiles and has been calibrated on more than 800 groundwater level time series. The calibration was successful and a test suggests the model is suitable for the simulation of groundwater management interventions. Possible model applications include an analysis of the superposition of watertable drawdowns from different users, ecological impact assessment studies, or the exploration of sites for groundwater development. Due to the thorough model description, the case can serve as an example for the approaches, opportunities and challenges in developing regional groundwater models.

Automated summary

Growing challenges in water supply management require regionally integrated groundwater flow models to inform and coordinate different actors and projects. The presented flow model for the East Frisian peninsula is a successful calibration of a steady-state model that can simulate groundwater management interventions. Possible applications include analyzing the effects of multiple users on groundwater levels, ecological impact assessment studies, and site exploration for groundwater development. The thorough model description serves as an example for developing regional groundwater models.