Mott MacDonald is a world leader in the application of
groundwater modelling techniques, and has developed its own
powerful suite of computer programs for the simulation of
groundwater flow and contaminant transport in a wide variety of
situations.
We've based the model on the integrated finite difference approach,
using an implicit backward difference method of solution that is
both efficient and robust. The modelling suite has user-friendly
data-handling pre- and post-processing utilities within a GIS-like
visual display system.
We have used this modelling system on over 50 projects in the
worldwide, successfully applying it to extensive sedimentary
systems in the Middle East, complex alluvial aquifers in Bangladesh
and Pakistan and heavily fissured carbonate aquifers in North
Africa. We have also used the system to study fresh water and
saline water interactions in coastal aquifers in the Middle East,
and irrigated areas in Pakistan.
The model has a particularly powerful set of routines to model the
interaction of surface and groundwater, developed through the study
of resources in Bangladesh, and the investigation of low flows in
rivers of the UK.
In addition to the development and use of our own modelling system,
we have also undertaken a number of projects using commercial
software, and we are familiar with the use of the MODFLOW, MODPATH,
FLOWPATH, MT3D and SUTRA modelling systems, amongst others.
Display of cross-section through modelled aquifer
systems
Examples of past projects include:
- Dhaka Region Groundwater and Subsidence model – assessment of
resource availability and potential impact of groundwater removal
on land subsidence
- Water resource management modelling in Morocco – integrating
groundwater and management models for heavily-exploited basins
- Scavenger wells, Pakistan – solute transport modelling of
freshwater lens development and exploitation through the use of
scavenger wells
- Work in Kazakhstan modelling the interaction between
irrigation, surface and groundwater in extensive irrigated
areas
- Use of the Integrated Catchment Model (ICMM) in the UK to study
the impact of groundwater abstraction on low flows in rivers
- A large number of groundwater quality modelling investigations
in the UK
