Kaelin, N Et Al 2017 Evaluation Of
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Evaluation of potential impacts of the Rangitata South Irrigation Scheme on groundwater Report No. R16/3 ISBN 978-0-947507-33-6 (print) 978-0-947507-34-3 (web) Nicola Kaelin Patrick Durney Mark Trewartha June 2017 Evaluation of potential impacts of the Rangitata South Irrigation Scheme on groundwater Report No. R16/3 ISBN 978-0-947507-33-6 (print) 978-0-947507-34-3 (web) Nicola Kaelin Patrick Durney Mark Trewartha June 2017 Name Date Prepared by : Nicola Kaelin March 2017 Patrick Durney Mark Trewartha Reviewed by : Carl Hanson Groundwater Science Manager External review by: Stephen Douglass GHD Approved by: Stefanie Rixecker Director Science Group Report No. R16/3 ISBN 978-0-947507-33-6 (print) 978-0-947507-34-3 (web) 200 Tuam Street PO Box 345 Christchurch 8140 Phone (03) 365 3828 Fax (03) 365 3194 75 Church Street PO Box 550 Timaru 7940 Phone (03) 687 7800 Fax (03) 687 7808 Website: www.ecan.govt.nz Customer Services Phone 0800 324 636 Evaluation of potential impacts of the Rangitata South Irrigation Scheme on groundwater Summary Background: Construction of the Rangitata South Irrigation Scheme (RSIS) began in 2011. By late 2013, the main ponds were being filled and water was being supplied down the main races. The scheme diverts water from the Rangitata River in times of high flow (greater than 110 cubic metres per second) into seven stepped storage ponds located near Arundel. A network of open races supplies water from the storage ponds to farms. Scheme shareholders must have an on-farm storage pond with a minimum capacity of 250 m³ per hectare of irrigated land. The issue: We received reports of flooding in the RSIS area, including a report about a flooded stock underpass in November 2013. We also received reports on other flooding incidents near old river channels such as the Rangitata River middle channel and Kapunatiki Creek. What we did: We undertook a review of groundwater level and quality data collected from wells in the area. We checked for anomalous changes in groundwater quantity and quality and looked at reasons that may have led to the changes we saw. We created a numerical groundwater model to check the viability of our analyses and conclusions. Our assessment considers the RSIS to include the main storage ponds, all races and on-farm storage ponds, and any changes to irrigation practices that have resulted from the scheme. What we found: Following the commissioning of the RSIS scheme, groundwater levels rose near the scheme’s main storage ponds and races as well as near on-farm storage ponds. Groundwater levels in some wells rose to over a metre above previously recorded high levels in the area immediately downgradient of the main storage ponds, but increases were less farther down the plain. At the same time, groundwater nitrate concentrations have decreased in at least one location. We calibrated our numerical model using groundwater level data from wells in the area. Then, we used the calibrated model to simulate the long-term effects of the various components of the RSIS on the area’s groundwater levels. The model indicates that increased recharge from the RSIS could cause groundwater levels to rise by up to 5 m directly beneath the main storage ponds, up to 3 m in the immediate vicinity of the RSIS ponds and main race, and up to 2 m downstream of the ponds and main race in the middle plain. The results show that the observed changes in groundwater levels can reasonably be attributed to the RSIS and associated infrastructure. What it means: We have not identified any other factors that could explain the observed changes in groundwater levels and quality, so we conclude that they were caused by the installation and utilisation of the RSIS. The recently observed flooding and increases in intermittent stream flows are probably also related to the RSIS, though the extent the flooding would have occurred even without the scheme is not known. Groundwater levels may decline somewhat over time as silt settles on the bottom of scheme ponds and races and reducing leakage, but they are unlikely to return to pre-scheme levels. Environment Canterbury Technical Report i Evaluation of potential impacts of the Rangitata South Irrigation Scheme on groundwater ii Environment Canterbury Technical Report Evaluation of potential impacts of the Rangitata South Irrigation Scheme on groundwater Table of contents Summary i 1 Introduction ..................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background .................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Study objectives ............................................................................................................. 1 2 Conceptual model ........................................................................................... 3 2.1 Topography and climate ................................................................................................. 3 2.2 Hydrology ....................................................................................................................... 4 2.3 Geology .......................................................................................................................... 7 2.4 Hydrogeology ................................................................................................................. 9 2.4.1 Groundwater flow............................................................................................... 9 2.4.2 Groundwater recharge ..................................................................................... 12 2.4.3 Land use and irrigation .................................................................................... 14 2.4.4 Groundwater use ............................................................................................. 14 3 RSIS construction ......................................................................................... 17 4 Recent observed groundwater trends in the Rangitata South groundwater system ..................................................................................... 22 4.1 Groundwater levels....................................................................................................... 22 4.2 Flooding ........................................................................................................................ 25 4.3 Groundwater quality ..................................................................................................... 31 4.3.1 Groundwater quality trends ............................................................................. 31 5 Numerical modelling .................................................................................... 34 5.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 34 5.2 Pre-scheme model ....................................................................................................... 34 5.2.1 Model configuration ......................................................................................... 34 5.2.2 Groundwater recharge and abstraction ........................................................... 36 5.2.3 Surface water sources and sinks ..................................................................... 36 5.2.4 Model calibration.............................................................................................. 37 5.2.5 Calibration results ............................................................................................ 39 5.3 Post-scheme model ...................................................................................................... 39 5.4 Results of modelled scenarios ..................................................................................... 42 6 Discussion .................................................................................................... 44 6.1 Increase in natural recharge ......................................................................................... 44 6.2 Groundwater abstraction .............................................................................................. 46 6.3 Implementation and utilisation of the RSIS .................................................................. 47 7 Conclusions .................................................................................................. 47 8 Recommendations ........................................................................................ 47 Environment Canterbury Technical Report iii Evaluation of potential impacts of the Rangitata South Irrigation Scheme on groundwater 9 Acknowledgements ...................................................................................... 48 10 References .................................................................................................... 49 Appendix A: Groundwater level records for wells in the study area showing signs of increasing groundwater levels ........................................... 53 Appendix B: Groundwater quality records for monitoring wells in the study area 77 Appendix C: MIKE SHE recharge modelling .......................................................... 89 Appendix D: Steady-state MODFLOW model ...................................................... 110 Appendix E: MODFLOW results ........................................................................... 119 Appendix F: Calibration statistics .......................................................................