Technical and Hydrogeological Feasibility Assessment of Environmentally Sustainable Subsurface Dams Using Numerical Modeling: A Case Study of the Rafsanjan Plain Aquifer

Riahi Riseh, Saeid; Robati, Amir; Kazerooni Sadi, Mohammadali

doi:10.22034/ijumes.2026.2108047.1418

Technical and Hydrogeological Feasibility Assessment of Environmentally Sustainable Subsurface Dams Using Numerical Modeling: A Case Study of the Rafsanjan Plain Aquifer

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Saeid Riahi Riseh

Amir Robati

Mohammadali Kazerooni Sadi

Department of Civil Engineering, Ke.C., Islamic Azad University, Kerman , Iran.

10.22034/ijumes.2026.2108047.1418

Abstract

Declining surface-water resources, falling groundwater levels and increasingly severe droughts have intensified the need for low-cost and sustainable water-storage methods in arid regions. Subsurface dams store water within alluvial deposits with negligible evaporation, but their feasibility in large, over-exploited aquifers has rarely been tested with calibrated numerical models. This study assessed the technical and hydrogeological feasibility of environmentally sustainable subsurface dams in the Rafsanjan Plain aquifer, Iran. The study is applied in purpose and descriptive-analytical in method and draws on geological, geotechnical, hydrological and hydrogeological data. Nine criteria, weighted with the Analytic Hierarchy Process, were used to screen the alluvial margins of the plain for candidate sites. A transient MODFLOW model, calibrated and validated against observed groundwater levels, then simulated cut-off walls at the highest-ranked sites with the Horizontal Flow Barrier package under five design and climate scenarios. The model reproduced observed heads with an RMSE of 2.84 m and an MAE of 2.17 m. Suitable sites were confined to the coarse alluvial fans of the southern and southeastern margins. At the preferred site, the barrier raised upstream heads by up to 6.8 m and added 0.52 million m3 of recoverable storage, while reducing downstream subsurface outflow by 27%. Depth to bedrock, alluvial thickness, permeability and effective porosity were decisive for performance and stability. The Rafsanjan Plain aquifer therefore has considerable but spatially limited potential for subsurface dams, which can reduce drought impacts and evaporation losses and improve local water security when combined with groundwater-demand management.

Graphical Abstract

Technical and Hydrogeological Feasibility Assessment of Environmentally Sustainable Subsurface Dams Using Numerical Modeling: A Case Study of the Rafsanjan Plain Aquifer

Highlights

● A third-generation spectral model (SWAN) in grid and line configurations is compared with empirical formulae for wave transmission over submerged dams.

● Depth-induced wave breaking is the dominant energy-dissipation mechanism, far exceeding bottom friction and whitecapping.

● The wave-height transmission coefficient falls from ≈0.97 for a 5 m crest to ≈0.85 for a 60 m crest, while the wave-period coefficient stays near unity.

● Grid and line models agree for narrow dams but diverge for wide dams, where the grid model underestimates the transmission coefficient.

● A process-based spectral model is preferable for wide structures once wave reflection is represented more explicitly.

Keywords

Feasibility assessment

groundwater numerical modeling

MODFLOW

Rafsanjan Plain aquifer

subsurface dam

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