PMWIN5.3 has been one of the most commonly used software for groundwater modelling because of its free source and the adoption of the popular core program MODFLOW. However, the fixed formats required for data input and lack of GIS data support have posted big challenges for groundwater modellers who are dealing with large areas with complicated hydrogeological conditions. In South Africa, most geological and hydrogeological data have been captured and stored in GIS format during various national research projects such as WR2005, NGA, etc. Therefore, a proper linkage between PMWIN and ArcGIS is expected to do the pre-processing for modelling in PMWIN. Visual Basic for Application (VBA) embedded in ArcGIS 9.3 was used to develop the linkage. Based on the conceptualisation of the study area, the model dimension, discretisation and many value-setting processes can be easily carried out in ArcGIS other than directly in PMWIN. Then the grid specification file and other input files can be exported as the PMWIN-compatible files. The functions on the modification of model geometrics have also been integrated with the toolbar. The linkage can be used with a higher version of PMWIN or ArcGIS. It has been applied to several gold fields in the Witwatersrand gold basin to simulate the groundwater flow and mass transportation for various conditions and scenarios. One of the applications will be presented in this paper. It has been proven that the linkage is efficient and easy to use.
Presenter Name
Haili
Presenter Surname
Lin
Area
National
Conference year
2013