Timescale and Effectiveness of Residual Saltwater Desalinization Behind Subsurface Dams in an Unconfined Aquifer

Countermeasures against saltwater intrusion (SWI) are critical to prevent coastal groundwater deterioration. Among different measures to prevent SWI, subsurface dams have shown to be an effective approach, but it is likely to produce residual saltwater behind the dam in a landward aquifer. This study investigated the influences of subsurface dam design and aquifer properties on the dynamic characteristics of residual saltwater in a field-scale aquifer and for the first time revealed the desalinization mechanism of residual saltwater behind the dams from the point of mixing zone. It was found that the low-concentration mixing zone (LCMZ) (for the area between 10% and 50% of seawater salinity) was a major channel for the saltwater to flow over the dam to the ocean boundary while the residual salt was continuously dispersed to the LCMZ from the high-concentration mixing zone (HCMZ) (for the area between 50% and 90% of seawater salinity) under high-concentration gradients. Moreover, we developed two formulas of the reduction rate of saltwater wedge length (RSWL*) and the removal rate of total residual salt mass (RTSM*) to evaluate the desalination effectiveness of high- and low-concentration residual saltwater, respectively. The results showed that it took much longer time for a taller dam and a dam at a closer position to the sea boundary to desalinize the high-concentration residual saltwater in the upstream aquifer, more than 50 years for the cases of dam height beyond 16 m. On the contrary, only a slightly shorter time was needed to remove the low-concentration saltwater behind the dams with the decrease of the distance from the sea boundary. Aquifer properties including the hydraulic gradient, hydraulic conductivity, and dispersivity strongly altered the desalinization time of the residual saltwater. The dispersivity was found to be the most critical factor influencing the removal effectiveness of saltwater retained in the landward aquifer. Increase of dispersivity from 1 to 3 m can dramatically reduce the desalinization time from more than 30 to 4 years.

Automated summary

Subsurface dams have been shown to be an effective method in preventing saltwater intrusion, but they may lead to residual saltwater behind the dam. This study investigated the influences of subsurface dam design and aquifer properties on the dynamics of residual saltwater, revealing that low-concentration mixing zones play a major role in the flow of saltwater over the dam to the ocean boundary. Aquifer properties such as hydraulic gradient, hydraulic conductivity, and dispersivity strongly impact the desalinization time of residual saltwater, with dispersivity being the most critical factor in removal effectiveness.