Estimation of groundwater level of Kumlu region on Amik Plain using artificial neural networks

Groundwater, which is a strategic resource in Turkey, is used for drinking, agricultural irrigation and industrial purposes. Population increase and total water consumption are constantly increasing. In order to meet the need for water, over-shoots from underground water have caused significant falls in groundwater level. Estimation of water level is important for planning an efficient and sustainable groundwater management. In this study, groundwater level prediction was carried out by using the monthly total rainfall, mean temperature and monthly groundwater level values between 2000-2015. Mounthly groundwater level values were obtained from observation well of The General Directorate of State Hydraulic Works, located Kumlu Region in Hatay Amik Plain. The performance evaluation was done by creating Multi Linear Regression (MLR), Autoregressive (AR) and Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) models. The ANN model gave better results than the MLR and the AR models.