Evaluating the contribution of subsurface drainage to watershed water yield using SWAT+ with groundwater modeling

Drainage outflow from artificial subsurface drains can be a significant contributor to watershed water yield in many humid regions of the world. Although many studies have undertaken to simulate hydrologic processes in drained watersheds, there is a need for a study that first, uses physically based spatially distributed modeling for both surface and subsurface processes; and second, quantifies the effect of surface and subsurface parameters on watershed drainage outflow. This study presents a modified version of the SWAT+ watershed model to address these objectives. The SWAT+ model includes the gwflow module, a new spatially distributed groundwater routine for calculating groundwater storage, groundwater head, and groundwater fluxes throughout the watershed using a grid cell approach, modified in this study to simulate the removal of groundwater by subsurface drains. The modeling approach is applied to the South Fork Watershed (583 km2), located in Iowa, USA, where most fields are drained artificially. The model is tested against measured streamflow, groundwater head at monitoring wells, and drainage outflow from a monitored subbasin. Sensitivity analysis is then applied to determine the land surface, subsurface, and drainage parameters that control subsurface drainage. Simulated drainage flow fractions (fraction of streamflow that originates from subsurface drainage) range from 0.37 to 0.54 during 2001–2012, with lower fractions occurring during years of high rainfall due to the increased volumes of surface runoff. Subsurface drainage comprises the vast majority of baseflow. Results indicate surface runoff and soil percolation parameters have the strongest effect on watershed-wide subsurface drainage rather than aquifer and drain properties, pointing to a holistic watershed approach to manage subsurface drainage. The modeling code presented herein can be used to simulate significant hydrologic fluxes in artificially drained watersheds worldwide. [Display omitted] •SWAT+ is used to quantify the contribution of subsurface drainage to streamflow.•The SWAT+ version used includes a new physically based groundwater flow module.•The modified SWAT+ modeling code is applied to the South Fork Watershed, Iowa.•The model is used to determine the watershed factors that control drainage.•Hydrograph separation is used to compute the contribution of drainage to streamflow.