Desk Research (CU79061V1-2021)

Research Report
Local rainfall and groundwater recharge in downtown Vlissingen

Kongla Kongsawat
00090297
Table of Contents

1. Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….1
2. Theoretical
Background……………………………………………………………………………………………...3
3. Method……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..6
4. Results………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………9
5. Discussion………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..13
6. Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….16

References…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..18
1. Introduction

It goes without saying that climate change is the one of the most worrying issues of the 21 st
century. Plenty of studies on its causes and impacts have been done and social awareness
among people is raising every day (Lampert, 2019). Political leaders across continents are
working hard together to either find the way to reduce their greenhouse gas emission and
stop escalating the problem or to minimize the potential disastrous consequences of climate
change in their country and seek to provide future-proof solutions (Climate Ambition
Summit 2020, 2020). Indeed, climate change is a global-scale issue for which all the nations
have to collaborate in order to address the problem, however, the impacts of the climate
change utterly differ from place to place, given each country is required to come up with their
own climate scenarios.
In general, climate change is associated with global warming, meaning that average global
temperature tends to rise. This consequently causes more severe fluctuation of precipitation
as warmer air is able to contain more moisture, resulting in more extreme precipitation.
(Lenderink & Attema, 2015). This scenario is also applied to the Netherlands, given that
winter temperature will be less harsh and rainfall is prone to increase. However, large part of
West Europe is experiencing a decrease in summer precipitation. And this discrepancy is
absolutely problematic for the Netherlands. Although the country is well-known for its
abundant water resources, the most pressing water-related problem currently being faced is
drought. The year 2020 was the third consecutive year of drought (Siepman, 2020), driving
the concern about the decrease in groundwater level to national agenda. As groundwater is
fundamental for the robustness of the soil, the loss of it means the loss of crop production
and vulnerability of the land as the land tends the subside. Therefore, replenishment of the
groundwater is vital to keep the land liveable. So, in this aspect, the increase of rainfalls
during the winter in the Netherlands is beneficial as it allows the groundwater level to
recover.
In local scale, according to the data published by KNMI in 2020 (Mens, 2020), Vlissingen is
shown to have a highly severe precipitation shortage – more than 300 mm. This worrying
fact pushes local government to find solution to protect its local groundwater level and
prevent negative consequences as mentioned. Also, saltwater intrusion is concerned in this
region, given acceptable groundwater level even more essential. Here local measurements of
precipitation and evaporation come into play, as they provide small-scale data which can be
used to determine whether or not the groundwater is sufficiently replenished and to advise
the local government if they should implement new spatial measures, such as green areas, in
order to increase the water infiltration capacity of the surface and therefore mitigate the
groundwater shortage in Vlissingen.
This research, thus, aims to provide data of potential, local amount of water infiltrating into
the soil. The data of local precipitation and evaporation is collected in Vlissingen Hospital,
which is located close to downtown Vlissingen. This data is afterwards compared to the daily
precipitation sum and relative humidity measured by KNMI in the weather station in
Vlissingen – 3 km away from the location of the self-data collecting. The data-collecting
process lasts 5 weeks – between week 46 and 51. The data gained from self-collecting gives
the actual local water balance (sum of the rainfall and evaporation) which is the potential
amount of water that is available to penetrate the soil profile. And by comparing it with
rainfalls measured by KNMI in Vlissingen weather station, discrepancy between these two
locations and the accuracy of the self-measurement will emerge, whereas relative humidity is
used to explain the local evaporation rate which is self-measured. Overall, this research is

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conducted to give an answer to the question “What is the available amount of water to refill
the local groundwater in the urban area of Vlissingen between week 46 and 51?”.

Main question:
What is the available amount of water to refill the local groundwater in the urban area of
Vlissingen between week 46 and 51?
Sub questions:

 What is daily local rainfall and evaporation?

 How to explain the measured local rainfall and evaporation?
 What is the difference between the amount of the rainfalls collected in Vlissingen
Hospital and by KNMI, 3 km away? In other words, is there a difference between local
rainfalls?
 What is the trend of the local rainfall?
 What state of the local groundwater level can be expected based on all the data?

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2. Theoretical Background

2.1 Climate
Climate is the weather conditions prevailing in an area in general or over a long period of
years. Climate refers to the average value of weather elements such as temperature or
precipitation, and it also includes the range of extremes and frequencies of the weather
conditions. (McClatchey, 2017). Climate, however, is not only driven by the mechanism of the
sun and the atmosphere, but it is rather an interactive system of five major components: the
atmosphere, the hydrosphere, the cryosphere (e.g. ice, glaciers), the land surface and the
biosphere (Lockwood, 2017). Climate is thus a complex system, and this is why even though
global climate zones can be categorized, but in regional and local scales, climate can still
substantially vary from the major global climate zone in which it occurs (McClatchey, 2017).
2.2 Local climate and rainfall
As mentioned, local climate can deviate from the major climate zone, for example, because
the variation is part of a relatively gradual change from one climate zone to another
(McClatchey, 2017). To understand the local climate of Vlissingen (location of study) the
global climate zone in which Vlissingen belongs to needs first to be described. According to
the Köppen system, the Netherlands (and thus Vlissingen) has a moderate maritime climate
(type Cfb), with relatively mild winters, mild summers and precipitation throughout the year.
This climate is strongly influenced by the warm current of the North Sea, so that the sea
temperature always remains above freezing. (translated from Het Klimaat van Nederland,
sd).
During the period of study (November and December),Vlissingen has an average temperature
of between 4℃ and 10℃, and two hours of sunshine per day averagely. The rainfall pattern
during these two months is described as very high chance of prolonged precipitation, with
average 61 – 100 mm per month. (Het klimaat van Vlissingen, sd). This information is
essential as it can be used to understand the data gained from the reseach, and to compare
with each other in order to see the climate change pattern playing the role here.

Figure 1: global climate zone (Neugebauer, 2019,

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/333746713_Climate_Change_-_A_review).

This shows that the Netherlands’ climate is distinguished into a temperate zone.

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2.3 Relatve humidity (RH)
Relative humidity is the ratio of the current humidity to the highest possible absolute
humidity (which depends on the current air temperature). The relative humidity tells to what
extent the air is saturated with moisture. So, a reading of 100 percent relative humidity
means that the air is totally saturated with water vapor and cannot hold any more, creating
the possibility of rain. (Chandler, 2021). Likewise, low percent of relative humidity means
that more moisture can be added to the air, and therefore high possibility of evaporation.
In this research, as two factors are studie – rainfall and evaporation – relative humidity is
used to clarify why in a certain day a certain amount of rainfall or evaporation is measured.
2.4 General rainfall monitoring
2.4.1 Instruments
“The standard instrument for the measurement of rainfall is the 203mm (8 inch) rain gauge.
This is essentially a circular funnel with a diameter of 203 mm which collects the rain into a
cylinder. The measuring cylinder can record up to 25 mm of precipitation. Any excess
precipitation is captured in the outer metal cylinder. The top of the rain gauge is 0.3 m above
the ground”. (Observation of rainfall, 2007).
In modern automatic weather stations a Tipping Bucket Rain Gauge (TBRG) is employed,
which also has an aperture of 203 mm. There are two advantages of this type of rain gauge as
it never needs to be emptied, and the amount of rainfall can be read automatically. An
electronic pulse is generated each time the volume of water collected in one of the small brass
buckets causes the bucket to tip. (Observation of rainfall, 2007).

Figure 2: a tipping bucket rain gauge (260-2501-A Tipping Bucket Rain Gauge, 0.01"/tip, sd,
https://novalynx.com/store/pc/260-2501-A-Tipping-Bucket-Rain-Gauge-0-01-tip-p155.htm)

2.4.2 Positioning
Buildings, solid fences and trees can have serious errors in rainfall totals. So, to site a rain
gauge, the distance of the gauge from objects should be at least twice the height of the
obstruction, and preferably four times the height. Also, the gauge should be in a place
without disturbance by people, animals or vehicles. (Observation of rainfall, 2007).
The rain gauges installed by the Bureau of Meteorology have the top of the collector 0.3
metre above ground level. As the higher the gauge, the more wind influence will come into
play and can result in errors, so the best height to position the rain gauge is the ground level.
Also, the rain gauge should be securely fastened so that it does not blow over in strong
storms. (Observation of rainfall, 2007).

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Figure 3: the ideal position of the rain gauge (Observation of rainfall, 2007,
http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/cdo/about/rain-measure.shtml).

2.4.3 Reading
Ideally the rain gauge should be read every day as near to 9 am clock time as possible. During
periods of heavy rain it may be necessary to read and empty the gauge at intermediate times
to prevent the rain gauge from overflowing. This amount is then added to the amount read at
the next 9 am observation. (Observation of rainfall, 2007).
The gauge should be vertical before being read. The eye level should be at the surface of the
liquid in the gauge. The data can be read from the scale the position of the liquid surface.
Importantly, the bottom of the liquid surface has to be read and not the the curved upper
surface of a liquid in a tube, which is the slightly higher lip formed where the water surface
meets the cylinder wall. If the surface of the water is midway between two divisions, the
higher division must be observed. When solid or frozen precipitation is present in the rain
gauge it will be necessary to melt the contents. (Observation of rainfall, 2007).
2.5 How results of this general monitoring are shared with the public
Generally, the official weather monitoring is done by governmental weather stations, and the
results are used to predict weather conditions and shared with the public via their website,
mobile application and radios. In the Netherlands, a responsible institute for the weather
monitoring is the KNMI – The Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, which is the
national knowledge centre and data centre for weather, climate and seismology. KNMI has
48 monitoring stations spread across the Netherlands and the North Sea. The institute
updates their Dutch weather models every 3 hours on their official website, which include
temperature, chill, relative humidity, wind direction and speed, visibility, and air pressure.
The daily total precipitation is shared every day at 8 o’clock. Moreover, on their website,
insight about the development of the weather elements over a period of time can also be seen.
Illustrations that are used to display the data are: tables (show data derived from different
stations), national map (shows regional differences) and linear graphs (show developments).
(KNMI, sd), ( (Actuele waarnemingen, 2019).

Figure 4 and 5: examples of illustrations that are used to display data for the public (Actuele
waarnemingen, 2019, https://www.knmi.nl/nederland-nu/weer/waarnemingen).

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3. Method

3.1 Required parameters

In order to answer the research question – “What is the available amount of water to refill the
local groundwater in the urban area of Vlissingen between week 46 and 51?”, two parameters
are ultimately vital. As groundwater supplies are replenished, by rain and snow melt that
seep down into the cracks beneath the land's surface (What is groundwater?, sd), one key
parameter is the amount of daily local precipitation – in this context thus the amount of
rainfall in downtown Vlissingen. Nevertheless, once rain falls on the ground, not the whole
amount of the rain will find way to seep down the soil and reach the groundwater table, one
key factor is because a part of the water on the ground will evaporate. So, another needed
parameter is the daily local evaporation. When combining these two parameters together
(local rainfall subtracted by local evaporation), a data that tells how much available water can
refill the local groundwater emerged – this data is termed in this study as local water
equilibrium. The daily local rainfall and the daily local evaporation are self-measured in
Vlissingen Hospital.
However, although those two parameters are sufficient to answer the research question, they
do not give an insight about the results. In order to understand why such amounts of local
rainfall and evaporation are measured, the daily relative humidity of the air measured by the
KNMI weather station in Vlissingen is also collected. Further, because the aim of the study is
also to observe the trends of the climate change, this study therefore compares the self-
measured data with the rainfall measured by the KNMI station – this will give the difference
of rainfall in spatial scale, and in temporal scale, the precipitation sum of Vlissingen in
December 2020 and 2019 will be compared.
In short, these are the parameters that need to be collected during the study period:
1. daily local rainfall
2. daily local evaporation
3. local water equilibrium
4. daily relative humidity
5. daily total rainfall
6. total rainfall in December 2020 and 2019
3.2 Self-measuring
Local rainfall and evaporation are self-measured. As these two parameters will have to be
combined, all other factors and circumstances used for the measurement are the same.
3.2.1 Instrument
Two transparent rain gauges of 8×8×25.5 cm, with a cup capacity of 50 mm are used. One,
which is used to collect the rainfall, is emptied everyday after reading. One, which is used for
the evaporation, is filled up with water until 50 ml everyday after the reading.

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 Figure 6: the rain gauge that is used for collecting rainfall and measuring evaporation

3.2.2 Positioning of the rain gauges

The two rain gauges are placed in the garden of the student campus de Ruyter (Joost de
Moorstraat 21, 4382 HK Vlissingen). However, the position is not ideal for rainfall
measuring, because the proportion between the distance of the rain gauge and the height of
the building does not correspond to 1:2. As the height of the 5-storey building, which is
around 23 m, the distance of the rain gauge should then be 46 m away from the building. Yet,
this is not possible in this case, because the only space that the rain gauges can be placed
accordingly is only in the garden, 5 m away from the building.

Figure 7: the garden of the Campus de Ruyter where the rain gauges are placed.

3.2.3 Reading
The reading is done daily at 9 pm, as this is the only time that the researcher can be available
to do every day. The rain gauge capturing the rainfall is emptied every time after reading,
ready to collect the rainfall of the next day. The rain gauge measuring the evaporation is filled
up with water at 50 mm. Everyday at 9 pm the reduction of the water level in the gauge is
read, which is the amount of evaporation.
3.3 Data collecting from KNMI
Relative humidity of Vlissingen is collected via
https://www.knmi.nl/nederland-nu/weer/waarnemingen and total daily rainfall of

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Vlissingen is collected via https://www.knmi.nl/nederland-nu/klimatologie/geografische-
overzichten
3.4 Data processing
To get the idea of how much rain water is available to penetrate the ground, the local rainfall
is subtracted by the local evaporation of the same day – this is called water equilibrium. The
relative humidity is used to clarify the evaporation rate as these two (should) have an
inversely proportional relationship. And the daily total rainfall by KNMI is used to compare
with the self-measured local rainfall, as these two data should not differ substantially from
one another.
In the end of the 5-week long measuring the total water equilibrium is calculated. This is the
available water to refill the groundwater, which is the answer of the research question.
Moreover, total local rainfall by self-measuring and by KNMI will be compared to answer the
sub question how substantial the difference is between local rainfalls. And lastly, the total
local rainfall will be compared with the total rainfall of Vlissingen in December 2020 and
2019, this way the trend can be seen, and prediction on the local groundwater level can be
made.
3.5 Data presenting
During the 5 weeks of data collecting, a table is used to store and organize the data. After
that, to present the course of the rainfall, the evaporation, and the water equilibrium, a line
graph is used, with the dates of the data on the x-axis and the amount of water (mm) on the
y-axis. The line graph is also used to compare the evaporation with the relative humidity, and
the self-measured rainfall with the rainfall from KNMI.

Figure 8: An example of a line graph with three factors (Añel, Blanco-Duran, Gimeno, & de la Torre,
2012.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228331661_Recovery_of_Meteorological_Data_for_
the_Observatory_of_A_Guarda_Spain#fullTextFileContent). This type of graph will be used to
process the data.

4. Results

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Table 1 : Data of the required perameters to study the amount of available water to refill the
local groundwater, collected in the period between 19 November 2021 and 22 December 2021

In total, there were 23 out of 34 days with rainfall. The average local rainfall was 5.9 mm per
day, while the average local evaporation was 0.5 mm per day. When subtracting the total
local rainfall with the total local evaporation, 118.9 mm of water to penetrate the ground is
available.
The values of the rainfall could be substantially different from one day to another, ranging
from small values (lower than 5 mm) to peak values of more than 10 mm or even 20 mm ( the
highest value is 22.8 mm) Whereas, the values of the local evaporation were somewhat
steady, with the negative values of not lower than 1.5 mm.
The relative humidity measured by the KNMI during the studied period was apparently high,
with the highest value of 99% and the lowest of 62%. This indicates that the air in Vlissingen
during that period was fairly saturated with moisture.
Lastly, the Vlissingen rainfalls measured by the KNMI did not show a huge discrepency from
the self-measured local rainfaill. The largest daily different value was 6.2 mm. And total
rainfall of that was 12.1 mm higher than the self-collected rainfall.
Based on the data above, different courses of the parameters in the studied period can be
drawn as follows:

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 Local rainfall, local evaporation and local water
equilibrium
25
Amount of Water (mm)

20
15
10
5
0
1- 2- 3- 4- 5- 6- 7- 8- 9-
-5
19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 10 11- 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
-11 -11 -11 -11 -11 -11 -11 -11 -11 -11 -11 -11 - 12 - - - - - - - - - - -
12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12

Date

Local rainfall (mm.) Local evaporation (mm.)

Local water equilibrium (mm.)

Figure 9: Line graph showing the courses of local rainfall, local evaporation and the sum of these two
parameters (water equilibrium) over the period of 5 weeks

In the overview of this graph, one clear observation can be made, is that rainfalls
considerably exceeded evaporation, and as a result, the water equilibrium is generally
positive. One exception to that statement is during the last week the of the studied period,
when there was no or hardly precipitation, resulting in water equilibrium to have slightly
negative values. However, as the local evaporation during that week was not unusally high,
the water equilibrium stayed marginally close to the zero value. Additionally, because the
values of the evaporation were very small in compared to the values of the rainfall, they only
mean to some degree of the sum. That is why the values and the courses of the rainfall and
the water equilibrium are quite similar.
In addition, as the local rainfall has quite a big range of values, this results in a very
fluctuating course, while the local evaporation only has values between 0 mm and -1.3 mm,
resulting in a more steady course.

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 25
Local rainfall and rainfall by KNMI - Vlissingen

20

15
Amount of Water (mm)

10

0
1- 2- 3- 4- 5- 6- 7- 8- 9-
19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 10 11- 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
-11 -11 -11 -11 -11 -11 -11 -11 -11 -11 -11 -11 - 12 - - - - - - - - - - -
Date 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12
Local rainfall (mm.) KNMI - Vlissingen rainfall (mm.)

Figure 10: Line graph showing the courses of the self-measured local rainfall and the rainfall
measured by the KNMI over the period of 5 weeks. This figure shows the comparison between the
rainfall in Vlissingen and the local rainfall in Vlissingen downtown, whereby the spatial difference of
rainfall can be seen.

Generally, the overal linear courses of the rainfall in Vlissingen downtown and the rainfall in
Vlissingen measured by the KNMI, 3 km away, were quite similar. Where one reahced its
peaks, the other tended to do as well, although with slightly different values. And, mostly,
when there was no rain detected by the KNMI, there was also no rain collected in the
downtown. However, a few deviations were visible: on 3 rd and 4th of December, no rain was
measured by the KNMI station, but 8.6 mm of rainfall was collected in the downtown.
Likewise, on 18th and 19th December, no rain was detected by the self measuring, but small
values of rain were collected by the KNMI.

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Figure 11: Line graph showing relative humidity and local evaporation during the 5-week-long data
collecting. The graph illustrates the relationship between these two parameters.
The course of the relative humidity was in general rather steady during the period of study,
with the values between 100% and 80% and minimums below 80% here and there. Only after
the 19th of December, the relative humidity dropped to lower than 70%. At same time, the
course of the local evaporation was more or less similar to the relative humidity – these two
courses followed the rise and fall, and reached the peak at the same moments.

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5. Discussion

5.1 Spatial Similarity and Difference

Self-measured rainfall at the Vlissingen Hospital and the rainfall measured by the KNMI
showed more or less similar graphs and peaks as illustrated in figure 10. This can be
explained as these two locations are located merely 3 km away from each other, therefore,
they share the same prevailing climate. Factors affecting the chance and the amount of rain
(such as relative humidity and wind direction) are similar between the two locations. That is
why the two locations shared the same number of days with rainfall of 23 days, and
comparable total amount of rainfall.
However, the daily amount of rainfall was seen to slightly differ from one place to another.
One possible explanation is that as rain in these locations is formed in the same clouds,
however, the intensity of the precipitation within the the same cloud might not be equal, for
example between the edges and the center of the rainclouds. Plus the fact that the clouds
move, results in unequal spatial distribution of rainfall. Another possible explanation to
logicize the spatial difference is the unideal position of the rain guage. The buidling 0f 23 m
high can be a huge obstacle for the rain collecting, resulting in some days of no rainfall
detected and/or less rainfall measured than the KNMI.
5.2 High Relative Humidity
During the 5-week-long period of study, continuous high humidity had been observed. This
parameter can be used to explain some important findings.

 Great rainfall
Apart from the existing climate of the Netherlands, daily high relative humidity indicates the
chance of the precipitation, with the more humid, the higher the chance. During the studied
period 23 out of 34 days had rain, while the relative humidity was generally generally higher
than 80%. However, one other factor that plays the key role of precipitation is the wind. In
the netherlands the South Western wind dominates. This wind is relatively warm and
contains much moisture, which brings frequent and strong rainfalls. In winter it is soft and
wet. It does not freeze during the day, and the temperature can even exceed 10 degrees.
(traslated from Janssen, 2021).

 Small evaporation
Likewise, due to the continuous high humidity in the air, less water was likely to evaporate.
This results in small daily evaporation of not more than 1.5 mm. However, there are other
factors that affect the evaporation, for instance temperature, solar radiation, and wind speed
(CHAPTER 4 Evaporation and Transpiration, sd). As the average temperature in Vlissingen
during November and December was quite low, namely 8.8 °C and 6.6 °C respectively
(Weerstatistieken Vlissingen - 2021, 2021), small evaporation can be expected. Furthermore,
the sun duration of November and December was also low (76 hours and 48 hours), meaning
that there was also low solar radiation during this period, and therefore small evaporation.
However, the false positioning of the rain gauge could also be a cause of small evaporation.
As the high building could shade over the place where the rain gauge was located during the
day, blocking the water in the gauge from being exposed to the solar radiation. Also, the
building could obstruct the wind, so, depending on the wind direction the area of the rain
guage could sometimes be windstill. Moreover, the method of the measuring evaporation
used in this study was actually aimed to compare with self-measured rainfall. This method is,

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however, not the most accurate way to do. So, the data of local evaporation gained from this
study could not be used as the actual data of evaporation.

 Large water equilibrium

As the local rainfall exceeded the local evaporation, the water equilibrium is positive, in this
case even as much as the local rainfall. This data is used here as the available water to refill
the groundwater.
Nevertheless, the water equilibrium is actually not the right answer to the main question. In
order to get a more accurate answer, it is vital to understand the water balance of the local
water system.

“Water balance
The water balance portrays the hydrological cycle quantitatively:
The general water balance equation is:
P - R - G - E - T = DS
where:

P precipitation [unit of height] or [unit of volume/unit of time]

R runoff, [unit of height] or [unit of volume/unit of time]

R = Rout - Rin
Rout = runoff as outflow from the water body/hydrologic region
Rin = runoff as influx into the water body/hydrologic region 

G groundwater flow, [unit of height] of [unit of volume/unit of time]

G = Gout - Gin
Gout = groundwater as outflow from the water body/hydrologic region
Gin = groundwater as influx into the water body/hydrologic region

E evaporation, [unit of height] or [unit of volume/unit of time]

T  transpiration, [unit of height] or [unit of volume/unit of time]

DS  change in storage, [unit of height] or [unit of volume/unit of time]”

Source: (water balance, sd)

https://www.geo.fu-berlin.de/en/v/iwm-network/learning_content/environmental-background/
basics_hydrogeography/water_balance/index.html

The equation of the water balance tells the amount of water in different forms within the
water system (e.g. watershed). The groundwater storage is termed here as DS. And in order
to know the potential change of the groundwater storage, every other components of the
water balance need to be monitored. Thus, in this case, not only rainfall and evaporation have
to be measured, but also run-off, groundwater flow and transpiration.

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However, with the findings gained from data collecting, when comparing with the data from
previous year, a prediction on the increase or decrease of the groundwater can be made.

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6. Conclusion

6.1 Research question

As an answer to the research question “What is the available amount of water to refill the
local groundwater in the urban area of Vlissingen between week 46 and 51?”, the term water
equilibrium is used as the answer, which is the sum of the amount of the local rainfall and the
local evaporation measured between 19th November and 22nd December 2022. The water
equilibrium is 118.9 mm, which means 118.9 mm of water is available to penetrate the soil,
and has the potential to reach the groundwater table.
However, as discussed in chapter 5, this amount of water is not utterly the amount of water
that will absolutely recharge the groundwater storage. Because, a part of that water could be
absorbed by the vegetations, a part could not penetrate the ground as the surface is hardened
by human, and a part flowed underground towards the main channel (see water balance). It
is thus wise to emphasize that 118.9 mm of water is the available amount of water to refill the
local groundwater level, and not the absolute increase of the local groundwater level.
Moreover, other sub-questions that need to be addressed is about the trend of the rainfall and
the prediction of the local groundwater level. The total rainfalls in Vlissingen measured by
the KNMI during November and December in 2019, 2020 and 2021 were 169 mm, 128 mm
and 232 mm respectively, and the normal total precipitation based on the years between
1991-2020 is 175 mm (Maandsommen neerslag, normalen, anomalieën, sd). One significant
finding is that during the studied period, there was more rainfall than the previous two years
in the same months, and there was even more rainfall than the norm. This leads to the
prediction of the groundwater level. As more rainfall had occurred during November and
December 2021 than the two previous years, more water was available to infiltrate the soil,
therefore there should be more water reaching the groundwater level. Thus, a positive
increase of the local groundwater level in downtown Vlissingen can be expected.
6.2 Advice for the local government
As the positive result is seen in this research, this means a good opportunity for the local
government to make the most use of the rainfall as the goal to recharge the groundwater
storage. For instance, as the rainfall in this period was 57 mm higher than the norm, if there
was enough green space to capture all of those extra water, this could be beneficial for the
groundwater restoration. Furthermore, what is seen in the graph of the local rainfall is a very
fluctuating course of the rainfall, at some point a daily rainfall could reach more than 20 mm.
This can raise concern about fast water runoff and water nuisance. And if the land use in the
downtown is not designed to catch this much water in a short period, the extra rainfall would
not mean much to the local groundwater restoration. Also, due to climate change, even more
fluctuation and extremes are expected, a climate proof spatial planning which can catch more
rainfall durung a wet period and can sustain the groundwater during a dry year is essential.
6.3 Recommendations for improvement
One defective point in the research method in the position of the rain gauge. The suggested
improvement is to place the rain gauge far enough from any obstacle – the distance of the
gauge from objects should be at least twice the height of the obstruction, and preferably four
times the height.
In addition, in order to study the change in the groundwater level, a strong understanding of
the water balance in the particular water system is indispensable. So, to improve the accuracy

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of this research, the data of the local runoff, evapotranspiration, and groundwater flow have
to be included. Besides, the changes in the groundwater level could be observed in a long
term, such as seasons or years. Therefore, the study period for this kind of research should be
prolonged.

17
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