Abstract:

Human activities, such as water storage in reservoirs and pumping for irrigation, reduce stream flows and deplete unconfined aquifer in the plain area of the Baiyangdian Lake Basin. Without recharges from rivers and groundwater, the Baiyangdian Lake faces the risk of drying up. Considering the impacts of the Baiyangdian Lake on the local environment, biodiversity, and climate, many projects of water transfer for the sustainability of the lake were implemented. However, the result are unsatisfactory due to considerable leakages in the lake. In order to preserve the lake, sustainable groundwater use should be achieved and therefore, it is necessary to study the renewal rate of unconfined groundwater. In this study groundwater was surveyed on the plain area of the Baiyangdian Lake Basin in 2009. thirty six samples from groundwater and surface water were collected for measuring the content of tritium. Tritium content in precipitation since the mid-1950s was rebuilt by comparing the results from linear interpolation, Wu's method and Lian's method. Renewal rate of groundwater in the plain area was estimated based on the tritium data and the well-mixed model. Results show that leakage of the lake slightly increased tritium content in the ambient groundwater. Generally, the renewal rate of unconfined groundwater decreased from 15.0 %/a to 4.0 %/a between the mountain area and the lake. Alluvial fans are the main recharge area with an average renewal rate of 9.8 %/a. The renewal rate dropped to 4.4 %/a in the alluvial plain. We recommend that groundwater development should be restricted in the alluvial plain to recover the renewal rate of unconfined groundwater. Although such recovery may take a long time to occur, it is believed that recharging the lake by shallow groundwater is the only way to maintain a sustainable lake.

Key words: Baiyangdian Catchment, North China Plain, groundwater, renewal rate, tritium