PREDICTION OF GROUNDWATER TABLE DEPTH USING DIRECT RAINFALL-GROUNDWATER STATISTICAL CORRELATIONS IN THAILAND
Keywords:
Groundwater response, multiple regression, groundwater recharge, statistical analysisAbstract
Intensive water resources development in past decades has had large impacts on hydrogeological systems at basin-scales. Decision-makers require adequate information on both surface water and groundwater potential in order to formulate sustainable water resources development strategies. The present study aims to develop statistical models through multiple linear regression analysis of rainfall-groundwater data to investigate any direct response of groundwater to rainfall at representative sites in the Chao-Phraya river basin of Thailand. The monthly rainfall and groundwater data sets from several rain gauge and piezometric stations in the study areas for the period 2007- 2008 were collected from the Royal Irrigation Department, Thai Meteorological Department, and Department of Groundwater Resources (Thailand). It was initially hypothesized (and later on confirmed)that the groundwater table depth of the previous period was due to the slower movement of groundwater through recharge and infiltration processes. The multiple linear correlation analysis has been carried out to study the influence of rainfall, antecedent rainfall, and antecedent groundwater table depth on groundwater depth. The influencing variables have been selected based on the measures of multiple linear correlations. Because the groundwater database is not frequently updated compared to the precipitation and surface water database, the relationships proposed herein may be adopted to predict groundwater table depths to a reasonable degree of accuracy for better planning and management of groundwater resources of the basin.
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