Anika Mahzabin^1,, Md. Jakir Hossain², Siam Alam¹, Shams E Shifat³, Anika Yunus⁴

The primary source of drinking water for the approximately 21 million residents of the Dhaka metropolitan area is groundwater. Rapid development and overuse of groundwater resources from the subsurface aquifer are to blame for the alarming rate of groundwater level depletion in the Dhaka metropolitan area. A quick assessment is needed to predict the spatiotemporal distribution of groundwater levels in the future in order to manage this limited resource sustainably. Using the numerical model code MODFLOW, this work makes an attempt to simulate groundwater flow in subsurface aquifer systems. The Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority's bore log data was used to map the groundwater aquifer networks of the city of Dhaka (DWASA). The data gathered from the Bangladesh Water Development Board was used to assign the model boundary and hydrogeological parameters. All grid cells inside the model recharge boundary are considered to have the same recharge distribution. The model's results show that excessive groundwater extraction from aquifer systems, rather than a decline in recharge rates throughout the corresponding years, is the primary cause of the downward trend in groundwater level inside the city region. If the rate of pumping continues the same as it was in 2020, the depletion of groundwater level may get worse in the following years as a result of the city of Dhaka's growing population and development.

Dhaka metropolitan area, groundwater level depletion, MODFLOW, aquifer, population