Abstract
The objective of this work was the simulation of groundwater flow at the aquifer of the Chania plain area in Crete, Greece. This area is dominated by irrigated olive and citrus trees with high water demands during the dry period. In the present study, the three-dimensional Princeton Transport Code (PTC) model was employed in combination with the pre-post processor model ArgusOne, which has been developed specifically to simulate groundwater flow and solute transport. PTC employs a unique splitting algorithm for solving the fully three-dimensional equations, which significantly reduces the computational burden. For the model calibration, a simulation time of two years (1998 - 2000) was considered. The model was calibrated using hydraulic head data. In order to quantify the accuracy of the calibration process, a statistical analysis was performed between the simulation results and the corresponding groundwater field data. In addition, for the study area, the irrigation needs in a yearly basis were estimated based on a common irrigation amount for olive and citrus trees (period between May to September). Finally, using the simulation results the effects of saltwater intrusion are discussed and a proper irrigation plan is proposed based on crop requirements