• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.24 no.2
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• pp.23-37
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• 2019

To evaluate the available groundwater supply to the agricultural water demand in the future with the climate change scenarios for 40 sub-regions in Jeju Island, groundwater recharge and the available groundwater supply were estimated using water balance analysis method. Groundwater recharge was calculated by subtracting the actual evapotranspiration and direct runoff from the total amount of water resources and available groundwater supply was set at 43.6% from the ratio of the sustainable groundwater capacity to the groundwater recharge. According to the RCP 4.5 scenario, the available groundwater supply to the agricultural water demand is estimated to be insufficient in 2020 and 2025, especially in the western and eastern regions of the island. However, such a water shortage problem is alleviated in 2030. When applying the RCP 8.5 scenario, available groundwater supply can't meet the water demand over the entire decade.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.22 no.5
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• pp.112-127
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• 2017

Groundwater accounts for more than 10% of the total water supply in Korea. However, the contribution of groundwater to public water supply systems has been poorly played role throughout the country except for Jeju Island. Compared with the groundwater uses in foreign countries, the pattern of groundwater use in Korea seems to be very deformed and unreasonable. Currently, the development and use of groundwater in Korea are mostly carried out by the individuals, and public sectors such as central and local governments are not actively involved in such activities. Private groundwater use and management will continue to cause groundwater depletion and pollution problems. It is necessary to actively enhance the role of public authorities in groundwater managements by engaging precise hydrogeological surveys and proper economic evaluation in the development and operation of groundwater sources. Also, in order to solve the problems that public water supply systems overly rely on the surface water sources, it is necessary to take policies that require the water supply companies to secure a variety of water sources.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.60-70
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• 2017

As water sources become more vulnerable to the effects of climate change such as drought and contamination, the diversification of water sources is important for securing water supply. This study examines the properties of five water sources for public supply, including river and river-bed water, dams, reservoirs, and groundwater, while ensuring that the quantities available from such sources are stable and the water itself is safe for use. This study also analyzes the power, chemical, repair and maintenance, and labor costs associated with each water source. The results demonstrate that groundwater has high potential as a water source because it is readily available (about $12.89billion\;m^3/yr$), but only a small portion of it is currently used. Analyses indicated that groundwater is the most efficient source of water to meet water demand below $1,000,000m^3/yr$, which covers 62.5% of water supply facilicities. With the implementation of groundwater dams, groundwater can become cost-efficient even for larger water demand. Additionally, the water source protection areas are the smallest for groundwater among the five water sources. In conclusion, the use of groundwater as an alternative water source is feasible becasue it is readily available, safe, cost-efficient, and requires the lowest amount of environmental regulations for the diversification of water supply sources.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.65-75
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• 2021

We investigated hydrochemical and stable isotope characteristics of groundwater in a large agricultural plain, the Honam plain, to evaluate the adequacy of agricultural water supply. For preliminary assessment for the area, we collected 23 groundwater samples from domestic wells and conducted hydrochemical and water stable isotope analysis. Groundwater in the study area is mainly Ca-HCO3 type resulting from water-rock interactions. Stable oxygen and hydrogen isotopic compositions indicated that recharge water is derived from precipitation while some sampling sites had evaporation signatures. Irrigation water quality using sodium absorption ratio and salinity hazard showed most of the groundwater samples were found to be suitable for irrigation. The groundwater in the southwestern part of the study area was affected by both seawater intrusion and agricultural activities, indicating a higher possibility of groundwater contamination near the coastal areas. Elevated concentrations of nitrate and phosphate ions in the groundwater are considered to be influenced by anthropogenic activities such as fertilizer application. It is expected that this study would be able to provide preliminary information on groundwater quality for agricultural water supply in the Mangyeong-Dongjin watershed.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.50 no.12
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• pp.889-896
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• 2017

In the present study, an integrated SWAT-MODFLOW model was implemented to analyze the method of supplying groundwater abstraction contributing to Musimcheon stream. Various simulations of supply of groundwater to streamflow with current and maximum groundwater abstraction have been explored for 5 years (2011-2015). In 2015, when the severe drought happened, the monthly discharge change rate due to groundwater supply was ranged from 23% in current abstraction to 68% in maximum abstraction. In terms of annual groundwater recharge, these quantities could be applicable recharges ranged from 75 mm (6.2% of annual mean precipitation) to 290 mm (24% of annual mean precipitation) which could be stable annual supply. Since surface water is vulnerable to drought, the water supply using groundwater could be an effective alternative for stream deficiency.

• Biomedical Science Letters
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.255-263
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• 2021

Human Astrovirus (HuAstV) is an important gastrointestinal pathogen that is frequently reported worldwide. Monitoring of contaminated groundwater has been suggested since HuAstV is transmitted through the fecal-oral route. This study developed a test method based on conventional reverse transcription (RT)-nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) that involves SL^® non-specific reaction inhibitor for unknown non-specific amplification taking place in the groundwater environment. An optimal method for detecting HuAstV in groundwater sample through analysis and comparison against conventionally reported method was also suggested. The developed method enabled the production of nested PCR amplicon of 630 nt, which is a sufficient length for similarity analysis based on sequencing and genotyping. Amplicons suspected to be HuAstV were amplified in two out of the twenty groundwater samples collected in Korea, presenting 99.77% and 99.73% similarity against HuAstV 1 strain lhar/2011/kor (JN887820.1) in sequencing, respectively. These amplicons were identified as HuAstV 1.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.37-47
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• 2017

Climate change has often resulted in severe droughts in a rice-farming season (i.e., April to June), and the large amount of water resources were needed to cope with droughts during the season. Therefore, the subsurface dam, which is able to store groundwater resources in the alluvium aquifer, has been considered to be an alternative for securing more groundwater resources. In this study, suitable sites assessment criteria for agricultural subsurface dam using analytic hierarchy process (AHP) were established for adequate drought management. Moreover, the criteria were applied to the existing five agricultural subsurface dams to verify their applicability of groundwater supply for each subsurface dam. The assessment criteria were divided into three major categories (geology, hydrology and business condition) and classified to 12 individual sub-categories with weighting. From the assessment, Ian subsurface dam and Wooil subsurface dam were identified as the best and the worst suitable site, respectively, and this result was in accordance with the average amount of annual groundwater supply by each subsurface dam during the period of 2011-2017.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.27 no.2
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• pp.24-35
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• 2022

This study was conducted to estimate groundwater demand and supply for agricultural activities in a frequent-drought area that requires implementation of optimal distribution plan utilizing the well-network system (WNS). The WNS has been considered as a viable strategic way of supplying groundwater to farmlands by connecting groundwater wells physically or virtually. The study area heavily relied on groundwater resources for irrigation up to 53% due to a lack of surface water resources. Two kinds of methods, HOMWRS software and FAO approach, were used for estimating irrigation water requirements for paddy and upland fields, respectively. During the latest 10 years (2010~2019), the water requirements was estimated to be 1,106 m³/day. The requirements notably increased to 1,121~4,004 m³/day during active farming season (May to September), which exceeded the total yield capacity of pre-existing groundwater wells (2,356 m³/day) in the area. Detailed and definite determination for groundwater demand and supply helped to determine optimal scale parameters of WNS. The WNS has achieved more balanced distribution of groundwater resources for irrigation over the study area.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.12-18
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• 2011

To investigate the natural reduction characteristics of radon with a short half-life (3.82 day) in drinking Qgroundwater, we analyzed the changes of radon concentrations of groundwater, waters in storage tanks, and tap waters from the small-scale groundwater-supply systems (N = 301) by LSC (Liquid Scintillation Counter). We also analyzed the concentrations of uranium (half-life 4.5 billion years) in the waters by ICP/MS to compare with natural reduction of radon concentration. The radon concentrations of 68 groundwater-supply systems occupying 22.6% of the total samples exceeded the US EPA's Alternative Maximum Contaminant Level (AMCL : 4,000 pCi/L), with the average radon concentration of 7,316 pCi/L (groundwaters), 3,833 pCi/L (tank waters) and 3,407 pCi/L (tap waters). Compared to the radon levels of pumped groundwaters, those of tank and tap waters naturally reduced significantly down to about 50%. Especially, in case of 29 groundwater-supply systems with the groundwater radon concentrations of 4,000~6,000 pCi/L, average radon concentrations of the tank and tap waters naturally decreased down to the AMCL. Therefore this study implies that radon concentrations of drinking groundwater can be effectively reduced by sufficient storage and residence in tanks.

• Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.17-30
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• 2019

Intensive agricultural development in Mexicali valley, Baja-California, Mexico, has induced tremendous strain on the limited water resources. Agricultural water consumption in the valley mainly relies on diversions of the Colorado River, but their water supply is far less than the demand. Hence, the use of groundwater for irrigation purposes has gained considerable attention. To account for these changes, it is important to evaluate surface water and groundwater conditions based on historical water use. This study identified the effects of agricultural activities on groundwater levels and groundwater recharge in the Mexicali valley (in irrigation unit 16) by a comprehensive MODFLOW Farm process (MF-FMP) numerical modeling. The MF-FMP modeling results showed that the water table in the study area is drawn downed, more in eastern areas. The inflow-outflow analysis demonstrated that recharge to the aquifer occurs in response to agricultural supplies. In general, the model provides MF-FMP simulations of natural and anthropogenic components of the hydrologic cycle, the distribution and dynamics of supply and demand in the study area.