Groundwater monitoring network rationalization using statistical analyses of piezometric fluctuation

Abstract

Abstract The use of a multivariate analysis approach to rationalize a piezometric network is not new. The utilization of its results for the distinction of zones with particular fluctuation patterns is a contribution which has fruitful outcomes. This technique was applied with success to the Erbil hydrogeological basin in Iraq where a network of only 15 wells out of an original network of 68 wells (monitored for about three years) is retained for the purpose of future monitoring of the yearly changes in the aquifer storage. This new network represents at least four fluctuation patterns of the piezometric surface in two different aquifers.