Effect of Underground Dam Construction on Discharge of Qanats, Using MODFLOW Model (Case Study: Soofi - Makoo)

Today, because of consecutive droughts and population increase, management and optimum use of water resources play an important role in sustainable development. One of the methods in water resources management is to use underground dams. Underground dams cause to reinforce aquifer water storage and consequently, this reinforcement leads to better performance of Qanat. In the present study, the changes of the located ground water table below the bed of Soofi river (located in Soofi village in west Azerbaijan) were studied using water table data of three observed wells, two drainage systems (QANAT) and MODFLOW software. After calibration of the model and modeling with underground dam construction, water level in observed wells was predicted. Then, the effect of underground dam construction on Qanats and water balance was investigated. The results showed that the obtained data from modeling had acceptable accordance with observed data in a year after the construction of underground dam. Also, the comparison of the observed and predicted data in two upstream wells showed that, the difference between the two the observed wells was limited to a few centimeters and the percentage mean square error was 4.34 and 7.37 for steady and unsteady conditions, respectively.