Date

2015

Author

Fanta, Debebe Beyene

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Water resources available in the North Cyprus are suffering from severe drought. In order to overcome this, there is a water diversion project being carried out in the North Cyprus by State Hydraulic Works (DSİ). The project is designed to supply about 75 million m3 of water annually for drinking and irrigation purpose from southern Turkey to Northern Cyprus via pipeline under Mediterranean Sea. The costal aquifer of Güzelyurt, which is located in North Cyprus, is currently the main source of potable water in the region. Apart from drinking water supply, the aquifer is also used for agricultural irrigation purpose in the Güzelyurt region that provides significant contribution to the economy of the country through citrus orchards. Recent studies have revealed that the amount of water extracted from the aquifer exceeded its safe yield capacity, thus causing the degradation of water quality in the aquifer due to seawater intrusion. The water diversion project of DSİ is expected to relieve the excessive stress on the Güzelyurt Aquifer and may help the aquifer recover from further deterioration. The primary objective of this research is to develop a conceptual model for the Güzelyurt aquifer, which is the most useful tool available for groundwater resource management. It provides the general 3-D picture of the aquifer geometry, including recharge, discharge and hydraulic characteristics of the aquifer. In addition, the conceptual model is also used to ease understanding the complex nature of the aquifer system and organize the associated field data so that the system can be analyzed effectively for the purpose of future water resources planning. The conceptual model of the Güzelyurt Aquifer was developed in Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Groundwater Modeling System (GMS) software environment based on the available geological and hydrological data of the study area. Based on the objectives, the surface and subsurface structural framework: areal and vertical extent of aquifer has been determined and also internal and external boundary conditions of the aquifer have been established. Moreover, aquifer zones affected by excessive water withdrawal and seawater intrusion have been delineated.

Subject Keywords

Aquifers., Groundwater., Hydrogeology., Geographic information systems.

URI

http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12618937/index.pdf
https://hdl.handle.net/11511/24783

Collections

Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Thesis