Interactions between surface water and groundwater in selected tributaries of the Wei River (China) revealed by hydrochemistry and stable isotopes

Abstract

Fast population growth and rapid economic and societal development drive the massive extraction of groundwater, increasing complications for the relationship between surface water and groundwater. To study the surface water and groundwater interactions in the north and south tributaries of the Wei River (Xin and Jing Rivers), China, 17 surface water samples and 30 groundwater samples were collected and analyzed. Hydrochemistry and stable isotopes were used to study the surface water and groundwater interactions in the two rivers. The results showed that the main hydrochemical type of both surface water and groundwater in the Xin River watershed was HCO₃-Ca•Mg, while that of the Jing River water was SO₄•Cl-Na, and groundwater was of HCO₃-Na type. The hydraulic connectivity between the surface water and groundwater of the two rivers was generally weak. The contributions of surface water, precipitation and lateral groundwater flow to groundwater in the Xin River were 48%, 34% and 18%, respectively, whereas in Jing River they were 27%, 51% and 22%. The river in the south of the Wei River has greater hydraulic connectivity than the river in the north. The results provide scientific basis for the integrated management of surface water and groundwater in the areas.

Keywords:

• Hydrochemical processes
• stable isotopes
• surface water-groundwater interaction
• hydraulic connection
• Guanzhong Plain

Acknowledgments

All authors are thankful to the useful and constructive comments from the editors and reviewers. Many students involved in the field investigation and helped in sample collection, but cannot be listed as coauthors. They are Song He, Fengmei Su, Yuanhang Wang, Xiaofei Ren, Fei Xu, Jing Ning, Dan Wang, Miaojun Wei, Yujie Ji, Zhenmin Su, Qixiao Zhang, Lingxi Li and Wenqu Li. We appreciated their support on the research. Dr. Jianhua Wu provided constructive comments on this research, which is most appreciated.

Disclosure statement

The authors declared no conflict of interest.

Author contributions

Lei Zhang analyzed the data and was involved with the writing of the manuscript. Peiyue Li conducted the field investigation and data collection, developed the suitable methodologies, provided supervision in the presented work, and involved in the writing and editing of the manuscript. Xiaodong He helped in field investigation, methodology selection and visualization, and participated in reading and editing of the earlier versions of the manuscript.

Data availability statement

All the data used for the present study appear in the article. The raw data may be provided upon reasonable requests.

Consent to participate and publish

All authors have agreed to participate and publish in this article.

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (42072286 and 41761144059), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of CHD (300102299301 and 300102291507), the Fok Ying Tong Education Foundation (161098), and the Ten Thousand Talents Program (W03070125).