Summary
    AquiSeuil is a tool developed by BRGM and OFB to model the impact of levelling or removing a river dam on water-table levels.
    Conceptual model of the theoretical examples presented for reservoir-induced groundwater mound created by a dam along a river.

    Conceptual model of the theoretical examples presented for reservoir-induced groundwater mound created by a dam along a river.

    © BRGM

    The levelling or removal of a dam on a river lowers the surface water level of the associated reservoir and modifies the river-groundwater exchanges. These changes may prove problematic for the sustainability of groundwater abstraction and/or the sustainability of ecosystems dependent on hyporheic environments and groundwater.

    The AquiSeuil tool, developed by BRGM in partnership with the French Office for Biodiversity (OFB), can model the impact of levelling or removing a river dam on water-table levels, and thus provide an initial assessment of the effects of this type of operation.

    A mathematical model developed with Excel macros

    Developed as part of the shared research and development agreement between BRGM and the French Office for Biodiversity (OFB), this tool is based on a mathematical model developed using Excel macros.

    Ideally, the use of this tool requires knowledge of field water-level data (point data), which will be used to calibrate the model. Once the model is calibrated, simulations of the removal or levelling of the dam can be tested. The tool can also be used to calculate groundwater-river exchange flows at the level of the reservoir and the river upstream and downstream of the reservoir created by the dam.

    The semi-analytical solutions available in AquiSeuil calculate the steady-state hydraulic head distribution created by a reservoir on a watercourse following the installation of a dam, or the effect on the water table of levelling or removing the dam. They assume that the reservoir-river system completely incises the aquifer, that groundwater-river and groundwater-reservoir exchanges take place through semi-permeable banks, and that the aquifer has a finite width. The analytical method is based on the method of fundamental solutions.

    The AquiSeuil tool is available in French and English.

    Removal of the weir at the Saint Paul crystal-works on the Briance (Condat-sur-Vienne, 87).
    Removal of the Matabosch weir in Spain.
    Before and after view of the Kangaskoski dam-demolition project on the Hiitolanjoki (South Karelia, Finland).
    Before and after views of the Fersinghem weir-removal project on the Aa (Pas-de-Calais, France).

    To find out more

    A vent or lateral spring at the Fontaine de Vaucluse
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