This paper discusses the design and implementation of the ‘Ike Wai Hawai‘i
Groundwater Recharge Tool, an application for providing data and analyses
of the impacts of land-cover and climate modifications on
groundwater-recharge rates for the island of O‘ahu. This application uses
simulation data based on a set of 29 land-cover types and two rainfall
scenarios to provide users with real-time recharge calculations for
interactively defined land-cover modifications. Two visualizations,
representing the land cover for the island and the resultant
groundwater-recharge rates, and a set of metrics indicating the changes to
groundwater recharge for relevant areas of the map are provided to present
a set of easily interpreted outcomes based on the user-defined simulations.
Tools are provided to give users varying degrees of control over the
granularity of data input and output, allowing for the quick production of
a roughly defined simulation, or more precise land-cover models that can be
exported for further analysis. Heuristics are used to provide a responsive
user interface and performant integration with the database containing the
full set of simulation data. This tool is designed to provide user-friendly
access to the information on the impacts of land-cover and climate changes
on groundwater-recharge rates needed to make data-driven decisions.