Assessment of riverside groundwater flood risk induced by high river water levels using a numerical model and monitoring data

Large barrages have been constructed on the main rivers in South Korea to store water and mitigate fluvial flooding damage. However, the increase in water levels behind the barrages can potentially lead to a rise in groundwater levels in the riversides. The purpose of this study was to describe the effect of a barrage on groundwater levels and to test the applicability of a numerical model to groundwater inundation in this context. The Shincheon–Baekcheon catchment is characterised mainly by agricultural land use and includes significant greenhouse cultivation. Its two zones, which are lower A and upper B basins, mainly yield fine- and coarse-grained deposits, respectively. Trend and distribution analyses of manual and automatic measurements of groundwater levels indicated that: (1) the groundwater levels generally increased as the river water levels rose after the river was dammed; (2) the significant correlation between groundwater and river water levels could lead to reductions in the groundwater levels if the barrage gates were opened as a control measure; and (3) the lowering of high groundwater levels during dry seasons is important for preventing soil wetting in the riversides.