Engineering Geology 103 (2009) 39–58

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Engineering Geology
j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w. e l s ev i e r. c o m / l o c a t e / e n g g e o

The impact of tunneling construction on the hydrogeological environment of

“Tseng-Wen Reservoir Transbasin Diversion Project” in Taiwan
Feng-Rong Yang a, Cheng-Haw Lee a,b,⁎, Wen-Jui Kung a, Hsin-Fu Yeh a
a
Department of Resources Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan, ROC
b
Sustainable Environment Research Center, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan, ROC

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Groundwater flow and the associated surface water flow are potential negative factors on underground
Received 7 August 2007 tunnels. Early detection of environmental impacts on water resources is of significant importance to
Received in revised form 4 July 2008 planning, design and construction of tunnel projects, as early detection can minimize accidents and project
Accepted 25 July 2008
delays during construction. The groundwater modeling software package Groundwater Modeling System
Available online 15 August 2008
(GMS), which supports the groundwater numerical codes MODFLOW and FEMWATER, was utilized to
Keywords:
determine the impact of tunneling excavation on the hydrogeological environment in a regional area around
Tunnel inflow the tunnel and a local hot springs area, at the “Tseng-Wen Reservoir Transbasin Diversion Project”, in Taiwan.
Hydrogeological conceptual model A hydrogeological conceptual model was first developed to simplify structures related to the site topography,
Groundwater flow geology and geological structure. The MODFLOW code was then applied to simulate groundwater flow
Fracture rock pattern for the hydrogeological conceptual model in the tunnel area. The automated parameter estimation
MODFLOW method was applied to calibrate groundwater level fluctuation and hydrogeological parameters in the region.
FEMWATER Calibration of the model demonstrated that errors between simulated and monitored results are smaller than
allowable errors. The study also observed that tunneling excavation caused groundwater to flow toward the
tunnel. No obvious changes in the groundwater flow field due to tunnel construction were observed far away
in the surrounding regions. Furthermore, the FEMWATER code for solving 3-D groundwater flow problems,
in which hydrogeological characteristics are integrated into a geographic information system (GIS), is applied
to evaluate the impact of tunnel construction on an adjacent hot spring. Simulation results indicated that the
groundwater drawdown rate is less than the groundwater recharge rate, and the change to the groundwater
table after tunnel construction was insignificant for the hot spring area. Finally, the groundwater flow
obtained via the GMS indicated that the hydrogeological conceptual model can estimate the possible
quantity of tunnel inflow and the impact of tunnel construction on the regional and local groundwater
resources regime of the transbasin diversion project.
© 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
As industry and commerce have increased in southern Taiwan, public
water demand has grown gradually, and new water supplies are needed
to meet the demand. Tai receives considerable precipitation
(~2500 mm/year), which is 3.5 times the worldwide average. Precipita-
tion during May to October constitutes about 80% of total annual
precipitation. However, due to significant topographical relief and
unevenly distributed rainfall, most precipitation becomes runoff and
drains into the ocean within a very short distance. The mountainous
regions may experience annual precipitation as high as 4900 mm,
whereas the plain regions may receive less than 1200 mm. The ratio of
precipitation in the wet and dry seasons is also depending on regional
properties. For instance, the precipitation ratio during wet and dry
⁎ Corresponding author. Department of Resources Engineering, National Cheng Kung
University, Tainan 701, Taiwan, ROC.
E-mail address: leech@mail.ncku.edu.tw (C.-H. Lee).
seasons is 6:4 in northern Taiwan and 9:1 in southern Taiwan. The
available water quota for each person in Taiwan is only 12.5% of the
world average. Efficient management is extremely important in Taiwan,
since water resources are very limited (TPWCB, 1998; WRA, 2004).
To balance the seasonal variations of rainfall, many reservoirs and
water diversion tunnels have been constructed in Taiwan. The “Tseng-
Wen Reservoir Transbasin Diversion Project” is one such project
currently underway in southern Taiwan. The diversion project will
include a water tunnel, diverting water from the Lao-Nong Creek, a
tributary of the Kao-Ping River (Fig. 1), to the Tseng-Wen Reservoir,
thus increasing inflow and improving the potential of the reservoir for
the needs of future long-term water demand in southern Taiwan.
When the project is completed, an additional of approximately
600,000 m3 of water can be supplied daily to southern Taiwan users.
The project has been approved and is scheduled for completion before
2012. The Tseng-Wen Reservoir is the largest reservoir in Taiwan and
can store 609 million m3. The watershed area is 481 km2 and the
historical average annual inflow is only 1080 million m3 (CGS, 2002;

0013-7952/$ – see front matter © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.enggeo.2008.07.012
40 F.-R. Yang et al. / Engineering Geology 103 (2009) 39–58

Fig. 1. Geographic location of the study area.

F.-R. Yang et al. / Engineering Geology 103 (2009) 39–58 41

Fig. 2. Geological diagram of the study region.

 42
F.-R. Yang et al. / Engineering Geology 103 (2009) 39–58
Fig. 3. Cross-section diagram of the geology along the tunnel axis.
 F.-R. Yang et al. / Engineering Geology 103 (2009) 39–58 43

Fig. 4. Precipitation data in Gao-Jhong weather station. (a) Daily precipitation for 2006, (b) Monthly precipitation for 2006, (c) Average monthly precipitation from 1981 to 2006.

WRA, 2004). Reservoir records indicate that the reservoir fills to
capacity once every three years on average and is regarded as a low
usage reservoir. Conversely, the Kao-Ping River has abundant water
resources and the usage of runoff is only 12%, far below the average of
18% in Taiwan (TPWCB, 1998). Reverse inflow flows from the sea
during flood seasons. The project motivation is to utilize the Kao-Ping
River, which has sufficient water but few reservoirs, and the Tseng-
Wen River, which has the existing large reservoir but lacks sufficient
inflow.
Historically, groundwater studies associated with the design and
construction of large underground structures have focused primarily
on methods for controlling water inflow during excavation and
keeping the completed structure free of water (Goodman et al.,
1965). However, within the last 30 years, the impact of such
activities on the environment has become a major issue. Impact on
the groundwater resources in an area by underground excavations
can be minimized by planned constraints as pre-excavation grouting
and installation of an impermeable lining after final excavation.
However, such measures may be insufficient for avoiding environ-
mental impacts, particularly in areas with existing water shortages
and/or marginal supplies. Currently, the cost of delays and impact
compensation that can result in inadequate understanding of the
environment justify investigations and evaluations of the conditions,
as well as establishment of a monitoring system to assess possible
impacts. The most effective response to environmental concerns
is based on the understanding of the environment accompanied by
44 F.-R. Yang et al. / Engineering Geology 103 (2009) 39–58

Fig. 5. Results of stable base-flow analyses for Xin-Fa Bridge station of Lao-Nong creek. (a) Results of monthly base-flow analyses (b) Estimated recharge depth (data from 1981 to
2006), (c) Relationships of groundwater elevation and ground elevation.

adequate supporting data (Molinero et al., 2002; Attanayake and
Waterman, 2006).
Preliminary studies related to this water diversion project (Lin et
al., 2000; Sinotech Engineering Consultant Ltd, 2005; Yang et al., 2005,
2007) indicated that the issue of groundwater flow pattern around
this tunnel is of significant importance to the planning, design and
construction of tunnel projects, as tunnel excavation can generate
extremely large quantities of inflow, thereby causing potential hazards
and project delays. Tunnel construction may alter the groundwater
table, recharge, water quality, and groundwater storage or even alter
regional geology and the environment to such an extent that disasters
may result. This tunneling project should be evaluated on geotechnical
and geological considerations, and hydrological factors relating to
surface and groundwater to obtain sound solutions. Previous studies
(Sinotech Engineering Consultant Ltd, 2005) suggested that methods
for minimizing and preventing environmental impact should be
planned and made available to support response to predicted impacts
prior to tunnel construction.
To assess the impact of tunnel construction on the hydrogeolo-
gical environment in the tunnel region and at a local hot spring area,
 F.-R. Yang et al. / Engineering Geology 103 (2009) 39–58 45

Table 1 west across these three watersheds. These three creeks flow north
The monitored and computed groundwater elevation at various locations northeast, thus the water diversion tunnel axis is east southeast. These
Well no. Location Ground Mean Simulated Computed three watersheds, their boundaries, the three major creeks and their
elevation, groundwater groundwater error(m) tributaries were selected as study areas. The study area is limited to
h (m) elevation, elevation (m) the region within 2–3 km across the tunnel and is defined based on
hw (m)
the sphere of influence of tunnel inflow during its construction and
DB-85-01 Lao-Nong Fault 735.40 660.30 660.90 0.6
the natural boundaries (e.g., topography, stratum and distribution of
DB-85-02 Hot Spring Hole 710.00 671.20 672.40 1.2
DB-85-03 Hot Spring Hole 718.70 649.60 650.60 1.00 geological structure as well as rivers and ridges' lines).
DB-85-04 Gao-Jhong Fault 950.80 939.30 942.30 3.00 The dominant rock strata the tunnel passes through include
DB-85-05 Gao-Jhong Fault 915.30 912.50 914.00 1.50 Miocene sedimentary rock with layers of sandstone or shale or their
DB-85-06 Xiao-An-Shan 1649.30 1579.30 1578.10 −1.20 alternation. Among the many geological structures the tunnel crosses,
Anticline
DB-85-07 Lao-Ren Creek 1238.70 1196.50 1192.00 −4.50
the major structures consist of a series of parallel easterly inclined
Syncline thrust faults and folds, which often form local fractured zones,
DB-85-08 Biao-Hu Fault 686.70 Inflow – – including geological structures such as the Lao-Nong Fault, Gao-Jhong
DB-85-09 Tuff 1040.30 1018.50 1019.70 1.20 Fault, Lao-Ren Creek Anticline, Lao-Ren Creek Syncline, Chi-Shan
DB-85-10 Ping-Xi Fault 847.70 797.20 794.10 −3.10
Fault, Xiao-Lin Syncline, Ping-Xi Fault and Biao-Hu Fault. Fig. 2
DB-85-11 East Entrance 563.50 557.30 556.00 −1.30
of East Tunnel presents the horizontal distribution of these geological strata and
DB-85-12 East Entrance 576.80 544.80 545.30 0.50 structures. Fig. 3 presents a cross-sectional diagram of geological
of West Tunnel structures along the tunnel axis. When the tunnel reaches the spot
DB-85-13 West Entrance 520.90 505.70 506.00 0.30 with well-developed faults and the axial part of folds, tunnel
of West Tunnel
construction may encounter local inflow. Notably, along the eastern
DB-85-14 Collapse at West of 624.50 623.25 624.45 1.20
Transverse Tunnel side of the tunnel route, rock coverage is as thick as 1300 m, implying
DB-85-15 Transverse Tunnel 655.30 639.80 638.20 −1.60 that the tunnel may be subjected to geological disasters rock blasting
Route and encounter high water pressure.
Data adopted from Sinotech (2005).
2.2. Regional hydrological conditions

Groundwater Modeling System (GMS) software (Environmental 2.2.1. Precipitation

Modeling Research Laboratory, 2005) is first adopted to demonstrate
the abilities of the developed hydrogeological conceptual model. The
Geographic Information System (GIS) tool is used in data storage,
retrieval and analysis (Albertson and Hennington, 1996). The
hydrogeological conceptual model is constructed based on hydro-
geological characteristics such as on-site geology, geotechnical
characteristics and hydrogeology. Furthermore, groundwater flow
patterns in the region are simulated under the hydrogeological
conceptual model. Model calibration is achieved through the
classical trial-and-error procedure, during which simulated heads
are matched with observed heads. Moreover, evaluation of flow
pattern is investigated on the surrounding local area due to tunnel
excavation. The factors considered and the general methodology for
establishing a procedure for early identification of impacts are
described. The experience in applying the GMS software to the
“Tseng-Wen Reservoir Water Diversion Project”, the process of
developing the methodology, and the results obtained are presented
as a case study in this paper.
2. Hydrogeological characteristics of the study area
2.1. Location, stratum and geological structure
Taiwan is located on the boundary of the Eurasian Plate and
Philippine Plate. Frequent movement of these two plates produced
complex geological structures and significant topographical relief. The
Tseng-Wen project is located in a mountainous region in southern
Taiwan (Fig. 1). The transbasin diversion tunnel is divided into eastern
and western sections. The eastern section is 9.6 km long and crosses
the Lao-Nong Creek and Chi-Shan Creek watersheds, while the
western section is 4.3 km long and crosses the Chi-Shan Creek and
Tsao-Lan Creek watersheds. Both sections have a 1/700 slope to divert
the water via gravity to the Tseng-Wen Reservoir (Sinotech Engineer-
ing Consultant Ltd, 2005).
According to the watershed division of the Water Resource Agency,
Ministry of Economic Affairs, Taiwan, this study area can be divided
into three watersheds, the Lao-Nong Creek, Chi-Shan Creek and Tsao-
Lan Creek watersheds. The transbasin diversion tunnel runs east to
The long-term meteorological rainfall data collected by weather
stations and the latest rainfall data collected by new weather stations
were compiled. The variation in precipitation at various weather
stations is somewhat large, varying between 1570 and 3410 mm/year
with an average of 2680 mm/year. Fig. 4 presents rainfall data
collected at a typical Gao-Jhong weather station located in the study
region. Fig. 4(a) and (b) shows daily and monthly precipitation data,
respectively, measured at the Gao-Jhong weather station in 2006.
Total precipitation in 2006 was 4090 mm/year. The long-term average
monthly precipitation from 1981–2006 was 2836 mm/year, as shown
in Fig. 4(c), indicating that precipitation was highest in the period of
May to September in each year, and total rainfall during the wet
season accounted for 85% of the total annual precipitation.
2.2.2. Groundwater recharge from stream-flow record
Estimating the groundwater component of streamflow has been a
research focus for more than a century. Several methods have been
developed to estimate groundwater discharge and recharge from
stream-flow records (Lee et al., 2006). The most commonly used
methods are base-flow separation techniques. These approaches
estimate a continuous or daily record of base flow under the
streamflow hydrograph. In other words it requires an extended period
with records to estimate long-term groundwater discharge, as well as
a variety of manual methods or a rapid analysis that introduces
elements of subjectivity into base-flow-record estimation.
Long-term mean annual groundwater recharge in this study was
analyzed using the base-flow separation technique PART, as recom-
mended by the USGS (Rutledge, 1998). To prevent overestimation
caused by rainstorm events, stable-base-flow analysis (i.e., low-flow
analysis) is developed in this study to obtain a more reliable result.
Stable base flow is separated from stream-flow rate data and
hydrographs using the based flow separation technique (Chen and
Lee, 2003; Lee et al., 2006). The quantity of groundwater recharge was
then estimated based on the principle of groundwater balance.
Fig. 5(a) presents an example of successive monthly base-flow
results. Data for observed flow rates were collected from 1981–2006
at the Xi-Fa Bridge Station at Lao-Nong Creek. The daily flow rate
data for the observational period of Fig. 5(a) were input for analyses.
46 F.-R. Yang et al. / Engineering Geology 103 (2009) 39–58
Fig. 6. Typical photograph (a) Stratum with fault in study area, (b) on Fractured rock, and (c) Schematic diagram of the model adopted in this study (equivalent porous medium model
considering faults).
Analytical results indicated that lower recharge in the study area
occurred in during January–April and November–December in
the dry season. A comparison of Fig. 4(c) and Fig. 5(a) indicated
that the recharge is positively correlated with precipitation in the
wet period.
Average monthly recharge depth is obtained to calculate cumula-
tive recharge depth and plotted vs. time; the slope of the first 5-month
cumulative recharge depth line is used for estimating annual total
cumulative recharge depth using the stable-base-flow analytical
method. The long-term steady-state annual groundwater recharge
for the Lao-Nong Creek Watershed is 63.51 cm (Fig. 5(b)). Since the
total regional watershed area is 812.03 km2, the total quantity of
annual recharge in the Lao-Nong Creek Watershed is estimated at
515.72 million m3 (i.e. 16,353 l/s). By similar analysis for the Chi-Shan
Creek Watershed, the estimated annual recharge depth is 60 cm, and
the total annual quantity of groundwater recharge is approximately
210 million m3 (i.e. 6659 l/s) for a watershed area of 354.3 km2.
2.2.3. Groundwater table
The study site is located in a mountainous region that has
significant topographical relief and little human activity. Long-term
groundwater table data for this study were scarce. Currently, only
groundwater data were monitored using 50 observational wells
established during the planning and design phases of this project.
The monitoring wells were established to identify baseline data for a
decline in groundwater level in response to groundwater inflow into
the tunnel as the tunnel advances. Table 1 presents the compiled
results (Sinotech Engineering Consultant Ltd, 2005). The groundwater
elevation information reveals that moderate differences exist between
the groundwater elevation, which vary at 1.25–75.1 m below the
ground surface. Groundwater table and surface elevation are highly
correlated with a high coefficient of determination (R2 = 0.994) (Fig. 5
(c)). Regression analyses results for observed groundwater elevation
(hw, unit: m) and surface elevation (h, unit: m) where the observation
well is located, resulted in the following equation:
hw ¼ 0:9672 h−4:781: ð1Þ
Eq. (1) implied that the groundwater table tended to follow the
ground surface topography in the study area. This also agrees with the
concept proposed by Hubbert (1940) that a water table is a subdued
replica of the ground surface. In other words, the groundwater table is
relatively higher under topographically high areas and lower under
topographically low areas. For the development of the hydrogeological
concept model, Eq. (1) is used to estimate the steady-state spatial
distribution of regional groundwater.
3. Development of the hydrogeological concept model
As described, Taiwan is located on the boundary between the
Eurasian Plate and Philippine Plate and at an active mountain belt
created by the oblique collision between the northern Luzon Arc and
 F.-R. Yang et al. / Engineering Geology 103 (2009) 39–58 47

Fig. 7. Work sequence of establishing the 3-D hydrogeological conceptual model, (a) The initial 3-D numerical analysis network, (b) Digital terrain information, (c) Defining the study
area, (d) Distribution of hydrogeological units, (e) Modification of the 3-D numerical network boundary, (f) Modification of the 3-D numerical network elevation, (g) The 3-D
geological structure model, (h) Longitudinal profile of the tunnel axis.
48 F.-R. Yang et al. / Engineering Geology 103 (2009) 39–58

Fig. 8. Establishing the boundary conditions of the study area.

Asian Continental Margin. Frequent movement of these two plates
produces complex geological structures. Subject to vigorous orogenic
disturbances, the mountain region in Taiwan constitutes about 75% of
the total area and is abundant in fractures, fissures, joints, beddings,
and faults. While existing joints and fractures provide ideal conduits
for water to flow, large volumes of groundwater are stored in aquifers
in which water inflows are often encountered during tunneling.
Fractured rock models related to hydrogeological characteristics
can be divided into three major categories: the equivalent porous
medium model; the double porosity model; and the discrete fracture
model (Barenblatt et al., 1960; Snow, 1969; Long et al., 1982; Lee and
Farmer, 1993; Singhal and Gupta, 1999). In flow behavioral analysis of
fractured rock, the characteristics of fractured rock must be con-
sidered in the hydrogeological concept model (Lee and Farmer, 1993;
Lin and Lee, 1998). However, a hydrogeological model that considers
all rock fractures is impractical for solving hydrogeological problems
associated with a large region, and the normal equivalent porous
medium model does not account for factors related to fault structures.
Fig. 6(a) and (b) shows a typically schematic view of fractured rock in
the study area with and without a fault, respectively. Since available
approach should be applied to solve a practical problem, the
hydrogeological structure model was adopted in this study as the
equivalent porous medium model with fault structures. Fig. 6(c)
presents the concept in the hydrogeological structure model.

Fig. 9. Distribution of initial water storage of the study area.

 F.-R. Yang et al. / Engineering Geology 103 (2009) 39–58 49

Table 2 3.2. Boundary condition and initial condition

Permeability coefficients of various strata in the study area

Stratum Permeability Permeability Specific The ridgeline and river in each watershed are taken as natural
coefficient K (m/s) storage Ss boundaries. The ridgeline of the sub-watershed is considered as a
Ai-Lao-Jiao Stratum Medium 1.0 × 10− 6 0.001–0.01 boundary with no flow, while streams are considered as constant head
Yen-Shui-Keng Shale Low 1.0 × 10− 7 0.001–0.01 boundaries (Fig. 8). The initial head is based on the levels of the
Tang-En-Shan Shale Medium low–Medium 6.0 × 10− 7 0.001–0.01
groundwater table measured at monitoring wells during the initial
Chang-Zhi-Keng Stratum Medium 1.12 × 10− 6 0.001–0.01
(Alternation of Shale and planning and design phase of this project.
Sandstone) The spatial distribution of the groundwater table in the study area
Chang-Zhi-Keng Medium high 5.0 × 10− 6 0.001–0.01 is followed by Eq. (1) shown in Fig. 5(c), and defined from the digital
Stratum (Sandstone) terrain information and topography (Fig. 9). The groundwater
−6
Hong-Hua-Zi-Shale Medium–medium high 2.5 × 10 0.001–0.01
Shan-Min Shale Medium low 4.38 × 10− 7 0.001–0.01
recharge distribution is under the aforementioned low-flow analyses
Jhang-Shan Stratum Medium low–medium 6.0 × 10− 7 0.001–0.01 of flow data, based on the base-flow separation method. The annual
groundwater depth is about 60 cm. Through analyzing stream
Data adopted from Sinotech (2005).
hydrograph data to separate base flow from stream flow, this base
flow can be considered as the groundwater recharge quantity based
on the water balance principle.
3.1. Model development As hydrological boundaries are set up and numerical manipulation
is applied, the Layer Property Flow (LPF) in MODFLOW code is used to
As described, the approach model is developed by simplifying the finite difference method to calculate groundwater level and flow.
complex strata and geological structures observed in the region along This method directly simulates each individual hydrological stratum
the tunnel route, and entering the data into the GIS. Based on and independently calculates the flow in each inter-cell regardless of
hydrogeological properties determined from the categorization and the dimensions of hydrological stratum units. The pre-conditioned
stratification of aquifers and groundwater balance, the complex conjugate gradient method, which has better stability and conver-
geological environment is converted into a simplified hydrogeological gence, is used during numerical calculations.
conceptual model. This model consists of several hydrological stratum
units; groundwater inflow and outflow in the model are based on 3.3. Hydrogeological characteristics
water balance reaching a steady state. The groundwater flow field can
be obtained using 3D groundwater flow control equations with known The 3D hydrogeological conceptual model is based on equivalent
initial and boundary conditions and groundwater loads. Fig. 7(a)–(h) porous media theory to simplify complex strata and geological
presents the work sequence of the 3D hydrogeological conceptual structures into multiple hydrogeological units, including the Ai-Liao-
model. The procedures are described as follows. Jiao Stratum, Yen-Shui-Keng Shale, Tang-En-Shan Shale, Chang-Zhi-
The information and data on geography, geologic formations, Keng Stratum (alternation of sandstone and shale), Hong-Hua-Zi
geology, and groundwater hydrology of the site selected for study are Stratum, Shan-Min Shale, and Jhang-Shan Stratum, as well as
used to develop a regional 3D hydrogeological conceptual model. geological structures (i.e., Gao-Jhong Fault Zone, Lao-Nong Fault
Based on different hydrogeological properties, the model is divided Zone, Chi-Shan Fault Zone, Biao-Hu Fault Zone, Ping-Xi Fault Zone,
into many hydrogeological units. The computer software for ground- Lao-Ren-Xi Anticline, Xiao-Lin Syncline, and Biao-Hu Syncline). Each
water modeling, GMS, was developed based on the MODFLOW 3D hydrogeological unit is independent due to its unique hydraulic
finite difference model (McDonald and Harbaugh, 1988; Harbaugh, coefficient. Based on Lugeon test and laboratory hydraulic experi-
2005), FEMWATER 3D finite element groundwater model (Lin et al., mental results, hydraulic coefficients of various strata are compiled on
1996), and other related programs. The MODFLOW model, which has Table 2, and hydraulic coefficients of geological structures are
been improved and verified by academia and engineers in many compiled on Table 3.
countries, has been used for 20 years. The model is extremely accurate
and its suitability has been verified (Laronne Ben-Itzhak and Gvirtz-
man, 2005; Blainey et al., 2006; Risser, 2006).
At first, the initial 3D numerical analysis network is considered
Table 3
based on data availability and hydrogeological conditions. For model
Permeability coefficients of various geological structures in the study area
discretization, 200 × 100 × 10 cells are used as basic calculation points.
The length of each cell side is 100 m in the horizontal direction and Classification of Permeability Remarks
cell thickness in the vertical direction is 100 m (Fig. 7(a)). Fig. 7(b), (c) stratum coefficient (m/s)

and (d) shows digital terrain data, range of the study region and The disturbing zones 1.12 × 10− 5 10 times the permeability coefficient for the
near Gao-Jhong Fault stratum near the disturbing zone is used
distribution of strata, respectively, which are entered into the model.
Gao-Jhong Fault Zone 5.10 × 10− 7 The average of 6 sets of Lugeon test results
Fig. 7(d) presents detailed information for various hydrogeological obtained in the nearby boreholes DB-085-04
units represented by different colors. Using the unit editing function and DB-084-05 is used.
in the GMS model, the boundary on Fig. 7(e) and the ground elevation Lao-Nong Fault Zone 2.08 × 10− 5 The average of 4 sets of Lugeon test results
obtained in the nearby boreholes DB-85-01,
on Fig. 7(f), related to geometrical dimensions in the model are
DB-85-02 and DB-85-03 is used.
transformed into a 3D spatial distribution numerical network based Chi-Shan Fault Zone 8.68 × 10− 6 Rocks in this fault are extremely fractured
on the linear interpolation concept, and the inverse distance weighted and mixed with ashes. No permeability test
method or the Kriging method. Fig. 7(g) presents the final 3D results are available. Permeability
hydrogeological conceptual model. Fig. 7(h) presents the model coefficients for the neighboring strata are
referenced to derive the permeability
cross-sectional diagram and the axis of the proposed tunnel.
coefficient used for this zone.
Compared with the geological cross-sectional diagram from field Biao-Hu Fault Zone 1.54 × 10− 5 No permeability test has been done for this
investigation (Fig. 2), the interpolation results of the model cross- zone. This zone is fractured with holes and
sectional diagram (Fig. 7(h)) are similar in terms of geometric cracks thus the value 20 times the
permeability of a nearby stratum is used.
relationships, implying that the geological structure model (Fig. 7(g))
can be applied to the field case. Data adopted from Sinotech (2005).
50 F.-R. Yang et al. / Engineering Geology 103 (2009) 39–58

Fig. 10. The principle of model scale conversion for the hydrogeological conceptual model.

Fig. 11. Calibration results of the hydrogeological conceptual model. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
 F.-R. Yang et al. / Engineering Geology 103 (2009) 39–58 51

Fig. 12. (a) Groundwater flow field prior to tunnel construction, (b) Groundwater flow field prior to tunnel construction.

3.4. Conversion of regional and local models
To identify the natural limitations experienced when applying
the hydrogeological model to large regions, recommendations by
Swanson et al. (2006) are adopted in this study. First, the regional
hydrogeological properties, are analyzed where the proposed tunnel
route crosses. Network density was then modified to incorporate local
areas, which is referred to as local analyses. Distributions of hydraulic
heads near the site, obtained using a regional hydrogeological model,
are then designated as either a boundary or initial condition, which
are used in the detailed model for each section. This process demon-
strates that the hydrogeological analytical model proposed in this
study for a mountain tunnel can be used for evaluating the possible
impact of tunnel inflow on water resources for a large region.
Additionally, the proposed model can be applied to find results on
hot spring water resources with more accuracy and precision for a
small local area. Fig. 10 illustrates the principle of model scale
conversion for the hydrogeological concept model.
52 F.-R. Yang et al. / Engineering Geology 103 (2009) 39–58
 F.-R. Yang et al. / Engineering Geology 103 (2009) 39–58 53

Fig. 14. The hydrogeological conceptual model in local area close to the hot springs.

Fig. 15. Groundwater drawdown after tunnel construction. (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)

3.5. Model calibration
Model calibration, which is in the realm of inverse problems, uses
data, such as that for the on-site groundwater table and hydraulic
pressure or discharge, to calibrate and derive hydraulic parameters or
groundwater hydrological loads (e.g., surface recharge, interface
filtration or artificial pumping), which are used in the hydrogeological
conceptual model to ensure that the proposed model is accurate and
applicable. In this study, the MODFLOW 2000 PES Model and PEST
Model (Doherty, 2000) are applied for model calibration using the
Automated Parameter Estimation Method to calibrate various
hydraulic parameters for different hydrogeological units. Fig. 11
presents calibration results using the collected groundwater table
monitoring data; the black dots in the middle of the figure are

Fig. 13. (a) Groundwater flow field after tunnel construction, (b) Groundwater flow field after tunnel construction, (c) Drawdown, inflow, and accumulated inflow of groundwater
along tunnels.
54 F.-R. Yang et al. / Engineering Geology 103 (2009) 39–58

Fig. 16. (a) Groundwater drawdown adjacent to hot spring, 16(b) Contour of groundwater drawdown adjacent to hot spring.

monitoring well locations. Note that the upper and lower limits of the
calibration indicator represent plus and minus one allowable error
value (defined as 5.0 m). The solid portion of the indicator is the error
between calculated and observed values; errors within the allowable
range are green. Table 1 presents the computed errors between mean
groundwater elevation and simulated groundwater elevation with a
95% confidence level. Calibration results demonstrate that the
proposed 3D hydrogeological concept model is reliable.
In summary, the 3D hydrogeological conceptual model proposed
in this study has the following unique characteristics: (1) the model
considers regional geography, strata, geological structures and
groundwater conditions; the model determines the 3D geometric
relationship of the analytical network based on the spatial distribution
of hydraulic parameter values in each hydrogeological unit; (2) field
hydraulic test results can be used as input hydraulic parameters
for each hydrogeological unit; (3) base flow analytical results for
major streams in each region are entered in the model for analyzing
groundwater recharge quantity; (4) natural boundaries, such as rivers,
stratum and groundwater division lines, are defined as the fixed
hydraulic head or non-flow boundary conditions; (5) for local areas, a
local geological model can be developed and solved based on the
regional conceptual model to obtain the hydraulic head distribution
 F.-R. Yang et al. / Engineering Geology 103 (2009) 39–58 55

Fig. 17. (a) Groundwater drawdown along the tunnel axis, 17(b) Initial head, inflow, and accumulated inflow of groundwater along the tunnel axis near east portal.

that can be used as the initial and boundary conditions for the local
model; (6) groundwater table data obtained from observation wells in
the region have been used for model calibration with relatively higher
accuracy and precision.
4. Environmental impact of regional groundwater
4.1. Regional analyses
Regional groundwater movement was simulated using the 3D
hydrogeological conceptual model for large regions combined with
groundwater recharge quantity obtained base-flow analyses using
known conditions for the designed area with defined by natural
boundaries. Fig. 12(a) and (b) presents result for groundwater flow and
groundwater level fields respectively obtained from the 3D hydro-
geological model. All groundwater flows in the three sub-watersheds
form individual systems that discharge into the Tsao-Lan Creek, Chi-
Shan Creek and Lao-Nong Creek, respectively. Thus, analytical results
verify the accuracy of defining study regions using the watershed
concept. In terms of the influence of constructing the tunnel on the
regional groundwater flow and groundwater level fields (Fig. 13(a) and
(b)), preliminary analytical results indicate that major changes to
groundwater flow field occur at regions with high hydraulic head and
permeability (e.g., a faulted and fractured region). The tunnel position
causes groundwater to flow toward the tunnel axis (Fig. 13(a)). No
obvious changes in groundwater flow field were found in other
regions. Fig. 13(c) presents the groundwater elevation, inflow and
accumulated inflow at the tunnel, indicating that accumulated inflow
rates are 2245 l/s (the total inflow quantity is 515.72 million m3) and
260 l/s (the total inflow quantity is 3.8 million m3) in the East Tunnel
and West Tunnel, respectively. Additionally, total inflow quantity in
the East Tunnel is less than 6.6% of the average annual recharge of Lao-
56 F.-R. Yang et al. / Engineering Geology 103 (2009) 39–58

compressibility modulus (=4.6 × 10− 10 m2/N), and n is aquifer porosity

(=0.3).
As the local hydrogeological conceptual model is constructed, the
FEMWATER module in GMS is applied to determine the 3D ground-
water drawdown after tunnel construction. The module is based on
the 3D finite element technique combined with GIS data for numerical
analyses. The processing data for GIS workflow were dictated by data
sources with ground surface elevation, groundwater elevation, river
stage and land use information. Fig. 15 presents analytical results for
groundwater table drawdown near the eastern entrance of the East
Tunnel. The drawdown (N5 m) in the area around the watershed
ridgeline is significant (blue color in Fig. 15).
To assess the groundwater drawdown in the hot spring region,
Fig. 16(a) presents two groundwater table cross-sectional diagrams
extending depth 100 m and 1200 m from the eastern entrance. The
maximum groundwater drawdown in this region is 22 m, occurring at
a location on the southwest ridgeline extending 1200 m from the
eastern entrance. Fig. 16(b) presents simulation results of the contours
of groundwater drawdown depth adjacent to the hot spring region.
The impact on groundwater drawdown along the tunnel axis is
negligible. Fig. 17(a) shows the distribution of groundwater drawdown
along the tunnel axis after construction began. Fig. 17(b) shows
simulation results for initial head, inflow, and accumulated inflow of
groundwater along the tunnel axis near the eastern portal. Inflow rate
through the Lao-Nong Fault has an expected value of 250 l/s. The
accumulated inflow rates of groundwater are 410 l/s near eastern portal;
this value is significantly less than 1.0% of the average annual Lao-Nong
Creek flow rate (66,410 l/s) which was recorded by stream flow gauging
Fig. 18. The inflow of tunneling excavation in 0K + 220.
station (WRA, 2007). Thus, the effect of tunnel construction on water
resources at the local hot spring area is insignificant.

Nong Creek basin, which is 515.72 million m3. And total inflow
quantity in the West Tunnel is less than 1.8% of total annual ground-
water recharge, which is 210 million m3.
4.2. Local analyses
4.3. Description of measurement data on work field
During tunnel advancement, the tunnel inflow was encountered as
shown in Fig. 18. In order to measure the inflow, we installed the weir
(see the Fig. 19) to record the amount of inflow in eastern entrance of

Because two famous hot spring resorts are located in the study
area, evaluating the impact of tunnel construction on the adjacent
water resource is especially important. Impact caused by excavation of
the tunnel east entrance on the nearby Youth Creek hot spring was
numerically simulated (Fig. 14). Similar procedures described in
previous regional analyses are applied to establish a local hydro-
geological conceptual model for the east entrance of the East Tunnel
that covers the Youth Creek hot spring area. This area includes the
region measured along the East Tunnel axis extending from the east
entrance 1500 m southeast to northwesterly and 2500 m northeast to
southwesterly. The tunnel's west and south sides are surrounded by
the watershed ridge line and its north and east sides are adjacent to
an un-named creek and the Lao-Nong Creek. Fig. 14 presents the
hydrogeological conceptual model for the study area.
The boundary conditions and hydraulic property parameters for
hydrogeological units are designated. The regional groundwater
recharge depth, 0.6 m/year, is estimated based on base-flow analyses.
The initial groundwater level is predicted using Eq. (1). The period for
analyses is set at 2 years to include two dry and two wet season cycles.
A reasonable permeability constant (K) is estimated to be 1.0 × 10− 7
(m/s) for this local region based on model calibration. The perme-
ability is close to 2.6 × 10− 7 to 3.1 × 10− 6 (m/s) for the Jhang-Shan
Stratum near the eastern entrance of the East Tunnel. Specific storage
(Ss) is derived using the following equation:

Ss ¼ ρw g ðα þ nβÞ ð2Þ

where ρw is water density, g is the gravitational constant, α is

the aquifer compressibility modulus (=10− 9 m2/N), β is the water Fig. 19. A weir to record the amount of inflow in eastern entrance of tunnel.
 F.-R. Yang et al. / Engineering Geology 103 (2009) 39–58 57

Fig. 20. The inflow record of the tunneling excavation from 0K + 200 to 1k + 200.

tunnel. The inflow data was collected between 0K + 220 and 1K + 180
from February 3, 2007 to May 22, 2008. Fig. 20 indicated the
accumulation inflow is about 50 l/s-m (the total inflow quantity is
86 million m3). From previous study in Section 2.2.2, the amount of
annual groundwater recharge is the value of 515.72 million m3. The
proportion of the measure inflow to the groundwater recharge is
about 16%. This indicated that the measurement inflow value is 11.8%
higher than the simulational inflow. On the other hand, since
tunneling part between 0K + 400 and 0K + 750 is located the Lao-
Nong fault zone in Fig. 20, the amount of inflow can be reached as high
as 2.9 l/s-m due to this fault zone. This implied the geological structure
is significant factor in assessing the hydrogeological environment.
A comparison between observed and simulated values of inflow is
shown in Fig. 21. The results indicated that values of simulation inflow
are all less than observed values and have an approximately tendency
with observed values. The difference may be caused that the homo-
genous geological conditions are assumed in the paper while in fact the
study area located in the sandstone and shale interbeding formation.
The further research should be performed in the calibration subject.
5. Conclusions and recommendations
Based on field results collected during the planning and investigat-
ing phase of the “Tseng-Wen Reservoir Transbasin Diversion Project”
in Taiwan, a numerical methodology was applied for simulation of
hydrogeological conditions induced by tunnel construction. A ground-
water modeling package, the GMS supporting groundwater numerical
codes MODFLOW and FEMWATER, was employed to assess the impact
of tunnel construction on hydrogeological environments in the region
and local hot spring areas. The impact of tunnel inflow during tunnel
construction and the impact of tunnel construction on regional
groundwater resources are simulated to minimize accidents and

Fig. 21. Simulated values of inflow compare with the observed value from filed.
58 F.-R. Yang et al. / Engineering Geology 103 (2009) 39–58
project delays during construction. The simulation result was also
used to compare with the monitoring data. The following conclusions
are based on results obtained from regional and local 3D analyses
using the hydrogeological conceptual model.
(1) The impact of tunnel boring and construction on groundwater
flow in the study region is significant for zones with thicker
rock coverage and many fractured faults.
(2) Maximum groundwater drawdown depth of 22 m occurs at the
eastern entrance of the East Tunnel, at a location on the southwest
ridgeline in the conceptual model. In the hot springs area,
groundwater drawdown rate is far less than the groundwater
recharge rate; thus, groundwater drawdown is insignificant.
(3) Total inflow quantity in the East Tunnel is less than 6.6% of the
average annual recharge of Lao-Nong Creek basin, which is
515.72 million m3. And total inflow quantity in the West Tunnel
is less than 1.8% of total annual groundwater recharge, which is
210 million m3. Thus, the effect of tunnel construction on water
resources at the local hot spring area is insignificant.
The regional and local 3D hydrogeological conceptual models were
employed successfully to evaluate the influence of tunnel construction
on groundwater in the neighboring region and to predict inflow rate
during tunnel construction for the “Tseng-Wen Reservoir Transbasin
Diversion Project”. The proposed model provides information critical to
engineering design and should be adopted for engineering projects of a
similar nature during construction planning and safety assessments.
Acknowledgements
This work is based on the results from the “Geological investigation
and evaluation of tunnel for Tseng-Wen Reservoir Water Diversion Project
in Taiwan,” supported by the Southern Region Water Resources Office,
Water Resources Agency, Ministry of Economic Affairs, R.O.C., Taiwan. The
engineering design of the project was performed by Sinotech Engineering
Consultant, Ltd. The authors thank Sinotech Engineering Consultant, Ltd.,
for providing partial support on results and data in this study.
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