Conceptual Model of Water Resources in the Kabul Basin, Afghanistan

255 Pages·2017·11.64 MB·English

MINDEIPSARTTRMYE ONFT OMFN G1E3ES5O 2ALNODG IINCDALU SSUTRVREIYES
Prepared in cooperation with the Afghanistan Geological Survey
under the auspices of the U.S. Agency for International Development
Conceptual Model of Water Resources in
the Kabul Basin, Afghanistan
Scientific Investigations Report 2009–5262
U.S. Department of the Interior
U.S. Geological Survey
Cover. Photograph showing water sample being collected by the Afghan Geological Survey at a refugee camp in the Kabul Basin.
(Photograph by Ingrid M. Verstraeten, U.S. Geological Survey)
Prepared by the Pembroke and Tacoma Publishing Service Centers.
Mary Ashman, Editing
Christine Mendelsohn, Illustrations
Bobbie Jo Richey, Layout and Design
Ann Marie Squillacci, Text

For more information concerning this report, contact:
Chief
International Water Resources Branch
U.S. Geological Survey
420 National Center
Reston, VA 20192
[email protected]
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MINDEIPSARTTRMYE ONFT OMFN G1E3ES5O 2ALNODG NCDALU SSUTRREIYES
Conceptual Model of Water Resources in
the Kabul Basin, Afghanistan
By Thomas J. Mack, M. Amin Akbari, M. Hanif Ashoor, Michael P. Chornack,
Tyler B. Coplen, Douglas G. Emerson, Bernard E. Hubbard, David W. Litke, Robert
L. Michel, L. Niel Plummer, M. Taher Rezai, Gabriel B. Senay,
James P. Verdin, and Ingrid M. Verstraeten
Prepared in cooperation with the Afghanistan Geological Survey under the
auspices of the U.S. Agency for International Development
This study was funded by Interagency Agreement 07C442100KB between the U.S. Agency for
International Development and the U.S. Geological Survey.
Scientific Investigations Report 2009–5262
U.S. Department of the Interior
U.S. Geological Survey
USGS Afghanistan Project Product Number 168
U.S. Department of the Interior
KEN SALAZAR, Secretary
U.S. Geological Survey
Marcia K. McNutt, Director
U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2010
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Although this report is in the public domain, permission must be secured from the individual copyright owners to
reproduce any copyrighted materials contained within this report.
Suggested citation:
Mack, T.J., Akbari, M.A., Ashoor, M.H., Chornack, M.P., Coplen, T.B., Emerson, D.G., Hubbard, B.E., Litke, D.W.,
Michel, R.L., Plummer, L.N., Rezai, M.T., Senay, G.B., Verdin, J.P., and Verstraeten, I.M., 2010, Conceptual model of
water resources in the Kabul Basin, Afghanistan: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations
Report 2009–5262, 240p. available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2009/5262
iii
Contents
Abstract ...........................................................................................................................................................1
Introduction.....................................................................................................................................................2
Purpose and Scope ..............................................................................................................................2
Description of Study Area ...................................................................................................................4
Climate ...........................................................................................................................................4
Geomorphology, Topography, and Geology .............................................................................4
Geomorphology ...................................................................................................................5
Topography ..........................................................................................................................5
Geology .................................................................................................................................5
Hydrology ......................................................................................................................................8
Hydrologic Methods ....................................................................................................................................12
Climate Analysis ..................................................................................................................................12
Surface Water .....................................................................................................................................12
Groundwater Levels ...........................................................................................................................12
Water-Quality Sampling .....................................................................................................................13
Chemical and Isotopic Sampling ......................................................................................................13
Water Use ............................................................................................................................................16
Municipal and Domestic ...........................................................................................................16
Agricultural .................................................................................................................................17
Groundwater-Flow Simulation and Conceptual Model ................................................................19
Hydroclimatologic, Geologic, and Geochemical Characteristics of the Kabul Basin ......................21
Climate Trends .....................................................................................................................................21
Geomorphology and Composition of Basin-Fill Sediments ..........................................................23
Surface Water .....................................................................................................................................23
Streamflow Statistics ................................................................................................................23
Comparison of 2006 Water-Year Streamflow to Historical Streamflows ..........................26
Groundwater ........................................................................................................................................30
Groundwater Levels ..................................................................................................................30
Surficial and Neogene Aquifers ..............................................................................................30
Water Quality .......................................................................................................................................31
Surface Water ............................................................................................................................42
Groundwater ...............................................................................................................................42
Chemical and Isotopic Analysis .......................................................................................................47
Stable Hydrogen and Oxygen Isotopes in Groundwater and Surface Water..................47
Mass Concentration Ratios, Geochemical Reactions, and Solute Origins ......................49
Chlorofluorocarbons and Tritium in Groundwater and Surface Water ............................52
Water Use ............................................................................................................................................55
Municipal and Domestic ...........................................................................................................55
Agricultural .................................................................................................................................57
iv
Contents—Continued
Conceptual Groundwater-Flow Simulation and Water Availability .....................................................57
Conceptual Model...............................................................................................................................57
Estimated Water Availability .............................................................................................................61
Simulated Effects of Population Growth on Water Resources ...................................................65
Simulated Effects of Withdrawals from the Upper Neogene Aquifer ........................................65
Simulated Effects of Climate Change ..............................................................................................68
Summary and Conclusions .........................................................................................................................70
Geomorphology and Geology ...........................................................................................................70
Trends in Temperature and Climate .................................................................................................70
Streamflow ...........................................................................................................................................71
Groundwater Levels ...........................................................................................................................71
Water Quality .......................................................................................................................................72
Chemical and Isotopic Analysis .......................................................................................................72
Water Use ............................................................................................................................................73
Conceptual Groundwater-Flow Simulation ....................................................................................73
Water Availability ................................................................................................................................74
Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................................................75
References Cited..........................................................................................................................................76
Appendix 1. Climate..................................................................................................................................83
Appendix 2. Geomorphology Methods .................................................................................................87
Appendix 3. Surface Water .....................................................................................................................91
Appendix 4. Chemical and Isotopic Analysis of Air and Water Samples ........................................95
Appendix 5. Agricultural Water Use ......................................................................................................99
Appendix 6. Conceptual Model Development ...................................................................................105
Appendix 7. Geomorphology and Composition of Basin-Fill Sediments .......................................109
Appendix 8. Surface-Water Analysis ..................................................................................................117
Appendix 9. Groundwater Levels .........................................................................................................129
Appendix 10. Water-Quality Data ...........................................................................................................133
Appendix 11. Isotopic Data Results .....................................................................................................187
Appendix 12. Water Chemistry, Geochemical Reactions, and Solute Origins .............................203
Appendix 13. Interpretations of Water Age Based on CFCs and Tritium Data ............................209
Appendix 14. Simulation of the Groundwater-Flow System ............................................................231
v
Figures
Figure 1. Map showing study area of the Kabul Basin, Afghanistan, with major
geographic features and subbasins ……………………………………………… 3
Figure 2. Map showing generalized surficial geology and topography of the Kabul Basin,
Afghanistan ……………………………………………………………………… 6
Figure 3. Planar view (A) and generalized hydrogeologic cross section (B) of the Kabul
Basin, Afghanistan ……………………………………………………………… 7
Figure 4. Map showing locations of historical streamgages in the Kabul Basin,
Afghanistan ……………………………………………………………………… 9
Figure 5. Photographs showing Kabul River steamgage at Tang-i-Gharu ………………… 11
Figure 6. Map showing locations of wells in the groundwater-level-monitoring network
in the Kabul Basin, Afghanistan …………………………………………………… 14
Figure 7. Map showing areas of estimated actual evapotranspiration (AET) in the Kabul
Basin, Afghanistan ……………………………………………………………… 18
Figure 8. Generalized hydrogeologic representation, including numerical-model layers,
of the Kabul Basin, Afghanistan ………………………………………………… 20
Figure 9. Graphs showing (A) Annual graphs of mean monthly temperatures for the
1961–1991 and 2003–2007 periods; (B) increases in mean monthly temperatures
from 1961–1991 to 2003–2007; and (C) warming trend in the mean February
temperature for 1970–2006 at Kabul, Afghanistan ………………………………… 22
Figure 10. Graph showing the mean monthly vegetative index (NDVI), or greenness, for
1982–1985 and 1999–2002, for the Kabul Basin, Afghanistan ……………………… 23
Figure 11. ASTER analysis of relative abundance of mineral groups containing (A)
carbonate, (B) mafic and ultramafic minerals, (C) quartz, (D) ferrous iron, and
(E) ferric iron in the Kabul Basin, Afghanistan …………………………………… 24
Figure 12. ASTER analysis of relative abundance of mineral groups containing (A)
feldspar and clays, (B) smectite clays, (C) biotite and (or) chlorite and smectite,
(D) illite and (or) muscovite, and (E) ferricrete and calcrete minerals in the Kabul
Basin, Afghanistan ……………………………………………………………… 25
Figure 13. Map and graphs showing maximum, minimum, and mean monthly
discharges for the periods of record at 12 streamgages in the Kabul study area … 27
Figure 14. Map and graphs showing annual streamflow durations for the periods of
record at streamgages in the Kabul study area …………………………………… 28
Figure 15. Photograph showing streamflow in the Kabul River during low-flow
conditions in August 2007, Kabul, Afghanistan …………………………………… 29
Figure 16. Boxplot showing comparison of the 2006 water-year monthly mean
discharges with historical mean monthly discharges for the streamgage
Panjsher River at Shukhi ………………………………………………………… 29
Figure 17. Graph showing monthly depth to water in wells 116, Logar subbasin, and
167, Central Kabul subbasin, between September 2004 and September 2007, in
the Kabul Basin, Afghanistan …………………………………………………… 31
Figure 18. Trilinear diagrams of (A) surface-water and (B) groundwater quality in the
Kabul Basin, Afghanistan, 2006–07 ……………………………………………… 40
Figure 19. Map showing specific conductance of water in the Kabul Basin,
Afghanistan, 2006–07 ……………………………………………………………… 43
Figure 20. Map showing nitrate concentrations in water in the Kabul Basin,
Afghanistan, 2006–07 ……………………………………………………………… 44