In this study, the annual and monthly groundwater recharge for the Sapgyo-cheon upstream basin in Chungnam Province was evaluated by water balance analysis utilizing WetSpass-M model. The modeling input data such as topography, climate parameters, LAI (Leaf Area Index), land use, and soil characteristics were established using ArcGIS, QGIS, and Python programs. The results showed that the annual average groundwater recharge in 2001 - 2020 was 251 mm, while the monthly groundwater recharge significantly varied over time, fluctuating between 1 and 47 mm. The variation was high in summer, and relatively low in winter. Variation in groundwater recharge was the largest in July in which precipitation was heavily concentrated, and the variation was closely associated with several factors including the total amount of precipitation, the number of days of the precipitation, and the daily average precipitation. This suggests the extent of groundwater recharge is greatly influenced not only by quantity of precipitation but also the precipitation pattern. Since climate condition has a profound effect on the monthly groundwater recharge, evaluation of monthly groundwater recharge need to be carried out by considering both seasonal and regional variability for better groundwater usage and management. In addition, the mathematical tools for groundwater recharge analysis need to be improved for more accurate prediction of groundwater recharge.

Keywords: Water balance analysis, WetSpass-M, GIS, Monthly groundwater recharge