K. Shirani, R. Arfania, Y. Fereydoni, R. Naderi Samani, M. Shariati, M. Faizi,
Volume 26, Issue 4 (Winiter 2023)
Groundwater is always considered one of the important water resources, especially in arid and semi-arid regions of the world, such as Iran. In recent decades, it has decreased drastically due to excessive use. The objective of this study was to determine the best interpolation method and evaluation of the spatiotemporal variations for the groundwater level in the Sahneh-Biston plain of Kermanshah province during three decades from 1991 to 2020. At first, four Gaussian, linear, spherical, and power semi-variograms were obtained for observations. Then, the best semi-variogram and interpolation methods were selected among the evaluated methods for zoning the groundwater level in the region. The lowest value of the sum of RMSE, MBE, and MAE error criteria and the highest coefficient of determination (R2) between observations and estimates in all three decades and the average of the entire period were calculated and considered to evaluate the most appropriate semi-variogram and interpolation methods for spatial distribution. The results showed that the ordinary kriging method with Gaussian semi-variogram is the best method to estimate the groundwater level in the Sahneh-Biston plain. The average difference between the minimum and maximum groundwater levels based on the observation wells of the study area and the zonation method is from 1279 to 1372 meters and 1289 to 1409 meters during the studied period time, respectively. The groundwater level is placed in more depth with the proximity to the central and southern regions. The maximum decrease and increase of groundwater level variations have been 12 and 19 meters during three decades, respectively. Also, the underground water level variations during these three decades showed that both the second and third decades compared to the first decade and the third decade compared to the second decade have increased in more than 50% of the region. This increase can be caused by the optimum management and water use in these years. Therefore, groundwater level monitoring provides effective help for experts and users in planning and optimal management of groundwater for the sustainable development of water resources.
