Automatic estimation of aquifer parameters using long-term water supply pumping and injection records

Analyses are presented of long-term hydrographs perturbed by variable pumping/injection events in a confined aquifer at a municipal water-supply well field in the Region of Waterloo, Ontario (Canada). Such records are typically not considered for aquifer test analysis. Here, the water-level variations are fingerprinted to pumping/injection rate changes using the Theis model implemented in the WELLS code coupled with PEST. Analyses of these records yield a set of transmissivity (T) and storativity (S) estimates between each monitoring and production borehole. These individual estimates are found to poorly predict water-level variations at nearby monitoring boreholes not used in the calibration effort. On the other hand, the geometric means of the individual T and S estimates are similar to those obtained from previous pumping tests conducted at the same site and adequately predict water-level variations in other boreholes. The analyses reveal that long-term municipal water-level records are amenable to analyses using a simple analytical solution to estimate aquifer parameters. However, uniform parameters estimated with analytical solutions should be considered as first rough estimates. More accurate hydraulic parameters should be obtained by calibrating a three-dimensional numerical model that rigorously captures the complexities of the site with these data.     

Study on the hydraulic parameter differences between pumping and recharge in a confined aquifer of a soft soil area

Artificial recharge is an effective remediation measure for controlling groundwater level and subsidence in many coastal cities in China. Hydraulic parameters estimated by pumping tests are often used in the design of both pumping and recharge systems. However, the hydraulic parameters in the recharge process have been found to differ from those in the pumping process and should be studied in greater detail. Eight single-well pumping and recharge tests were conducted within a confined aquifer in a soft soil area in the city of Tianjin, and the differences in wellbore storage influences and well losses between the recharge and pumping processes were examined. Furthermore, based on the Hantush and Jacob model, an algorithm combining the Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm (LMA) and genetic algorithm (GA) was employed for estimation of the hydraulic parameters. The results illustrated that the combined algorithm eliminating wellbore storage influences could provide hydraulic parameters from which the groundwater level variation could be accurately simulated. The hydraulic conductivity and specific storage values obtained in the pumping tests were higher than those obtained in the recharge tests. In addition to slight plugging of the recharge well, the specific storage differences could be explained by the compression and rebound deformation characteristics of sand in the confined aquifer. The specific storage estimated by pumping tests should be adjusted when applied in groundwater recharge calculation.

     

A time-series analysis framework for the flood-wave method to estimate groundwater model parameters

The flood-wave method is implemented within the framework of time-series analysis to estimate aquifer parameters for use in a groundwater model. The resulting extended flood-wave method is applicable to situations where groundwater fluctuations are affected significantly by time-varying precipitation and evaporation. Response functions for time-series analysis are generated with an analytic groundwater model describing stream–aquifer interaction. Analytical response functions play the same role as the well function in a pumping test, which is to translate observed head variations into groundwater model parameters by means of a parsimonious model equation. An important difference as compared to the traditional flood-wave method and pumping tests is that aquifer parameters are inferred from the combined effects of precipitation, evaporation, and stream stage fluctuations. Naturally occurring fluctuations are separated in contributions from different stresses. The proposed method is illustrated with data collected near a lowland river in the Netherlands. Special emphasis is put on the interpretation of the streambed resistance. The resistance of the streambed is the result of stream-line contraction instead of a semi-pervious streambed, which is concluded through comparison with the head loss calculated with an analytical two-dimensional cross-section model.     

基于解析法和数值法的非稳定流抽水试验参数反演

含水层的水文地质参数是进行地下水资源计算、地下水污染防控等所必需的基础数据,结合数值模拟技术进行含水层参数反演很有必要.按照1:5万水文地质调查规范在江汉平原仙桃市杨林尾镇复兴水厂不同含水层位开展抽水试验,包括深层含水层单孔抽水试验以及浅层含水层中群孔(2孔)抽水试验.对于单孔抽水试验,应用第1类越流系统井流理论进行参数反演;对于群孔抽水试验,推导了特定综合井函数,并利用特定标准曲线匹配法和直线图解法求解了含水层参数.随后利用FEFLOW软件建立了相应数值模型,拟合了含水层参数.结果表明:浅层含水层的渗透系数变化范围为21.66~54.00 m/d,贮水率变化范围为1.28×10-5~8.00×10-4 m-1;深层含水层渗透系数变化范围为1.27~7.00 m/d,贮水率变化范围为3.90×10-6~5.00×10-6 m-1.对于深层承压含水层而言,越流补给量较大.采用数值模拟方法结合抽水试验数据求参,综合考虑了含水层结构,拟合效果好,所得结果更加可靠.      

利用不对称的地下水位潮汐波动确定滨海含水层参数

在滨海地区,地下水水位受潮汐波动影响较大,使得传统的抽水试验、水位回复试验等方法确定含水层参数存在困难且花费较大。通过对广西北海市滨海含水层地下水位动态资料进行分析,发现其上升段和下降段是不对称的。基于海岸带承压含水层正弦潮汐波的传播理论,提出了确定含水层参数的分段法,并与振幅衰减法和滞后时间法进行对比,各种方法求出的储水系数与导水系数之比(S/T)很接近,说明分段法是有效的。对于北海市滨海含水层,上升段求出的S/T值比下降段要大,其成因机理还有待进一步分析。     

Hydro-geomechanical characterisation of a coastal urban aquifer using multiscalar time and frequency domain groundwater-level responses

Hydraulic properties of coastal, urban aquifers vary spatially and temporally with the complex dynamics of their hydrogeology and the heterogeneity of ocean-influenced hydraulic processes. Traditional aquifer characterisation methods are expensive, time-consuming and represent a snapshot in time. Tidal subsurface analysis (TSA) can passively characterise subsurface processes and establish hydro-geomechanical properties from groundwater head time-series but is typically applied to individual wells inland. Presented here, TSA is applied to a network of 116 groundwater boreholes to spatially characterise confinement and specific storage across a coastal aquifer at city-scale in Cardiff (UK) using a 23-year high-frequency time-series dataset. The dataset comprises Earth, atmospheric and oceanic signals, with the analysis conducted in the time domain, by calculating barometric response functions (BRFs), and in the frequency domain (TSA). By examining the damping and attenuation of groundwater response to ocean tides (OT) with distance from the coast/rivers, a multi-borehole comparison of TSA with BRF shows this combination of analyses facilitates disentangling the influence of tidal signals and estimation of spatially distributed aquifer properties for non-OT-influenced boreholes. The time-series analysed covers a period pre- and post-impoundment of Cardiff’s rivers by a barrage, revealing the consequent reduction in subsurface OT signal propagation post-construction. The results indicate that a much higher degree of confined conditions exist across the aquifer than previously thought (specific storage?=?2.3 × 10^?6 to 7.9 × 10^?5 m^?1), with implications for understanding aquifer recharge, and informing the best strategies for utilising groundwater and shallow geothermal resources.

     

Recharge estimation from discrete water-table datasets in a coastal shallow aquifer in a humid subtropical climate

A time-series approach to the estimation of recharge rate in unconfined aquifers of highly variable water level is proposed. The approach, which is based on the water-table fluctuation method (WTF), utilizes discrete water-level measurements. Other similar techniques require continuous measurements, which makes them impossible to apply in cases where no data from automatic loggers are available. The procedure is deployed at the Ressacada Farm site, southern Brazil, on a coastal shallow aquifer located in a humid subtropical climate where diurnal water-level variations of up to 1 m can follow a precipitation event. The effect of tidal fluctuations on the groundwater levels is analyzed using a harmonic component builder, while a time-variable drainage term is evaluated through an independent analysis and included in the assessment. The estimated recharge values are compared with those obtained from the continuous measurements showing a good agreement with the approaches for discrete dataset intervals of up to 15 days. Subsequently, the estimated recharge rates are incorporated into a transient groundwater-flow model and the water levels are compared showing a good match. Henceforth, the approach extends the applicability of WTF to noncontinuous water-level datasets in groundwater recharge studies.     

Review: Moisture loading—the hidden information in groundwater observation well records

Changes of total moisture mass above an aquifer such as snow accumulation, soil moisture, and storage at the water table, represent changes of mechanical load acting on the aquifer. The resulting moisture-loading effects occur in all observation well records for confined aquifers. Deep observation wells therefore act as large-scale geological weighing lysimeters, referred to as “geolysimeters”. Barometric pressure effects on groundwater levels are a similar response to surface loading and are familiar to every hydrogeologist dealing with the “barometric efficiency” of observation wells. Moisture-loading effects are small and generally not recognized because they are obscured by hydraulic head fluctuations due to other causes, primarily barometric pressure changes. For semiconfined aquifers, long-term moisture-loading effects may be dissipated and obscured by transient flow through overlying aquitards. Removal of barometric and earth tide effects from observation well records allows identification of moisture loading and comparison with hydrological observations, and also comparison with the results of numerical models that can account for transient groundwater flow.     

Estimating aquifer thickness using multiple pumping tests

A method to estimate aquifer thickness and hydraulic conductivity has been developed, consisting of multiple pumping tests. The method requires short-duration pumping cycles on an unconfined aquifer with significant seasonal water-table fluctuations. The interpretation of several pumping tests at a site in India under various initial conditions provides information on the change in hydrodynamic parameters in relation to the initial water-table level. The transmissivity linearly decreases compared with the initial water level, suggesting a homogeneous distribution of hydraulic conductivity with depth. The hydraulic conductivity is estimated from the slope of this linear relationship. The extrapolation of the relationship between transmissivity and water level provides an estimate of the aquifer thickness that is in good agreement with geophysical investigations. The hydraulically active part of the aquifer is located in both the shallow weathered and the underlying densely fractured zones of the crystalline basement. However, no significant relationship is found between the aquifer storage coefficient and initial water level. This new method contributes to filling the methodological gap between single pumping tests and hydraulic tomography, in providing information on the variation of the global transmissivity according to depth. It can be applied to any unconfined aquifer experiencing large seasonal water-table fluctuations and short pumping cycles.     

Evaluation of methods for determination of hydraulic properties in an aquifer–aquitard system hydrologically connected to a river

Field and laboratory methods have been used to determine the hydraulic properties in a multiple-layer aquifer–aquitard system that is hydrologically connected to a river. First, hypothetical pumping tests in aquifer–aquitard systems were performed to evaluate the feasibility of MODFLOW-PEST in determining these parameters. Sensitivity analyses showed that: the horizontal hydraulic conductivity in the aquifer has the highest composite sensitivity; the vertical hydraulic conductivity has higher composite sensitivity than the horizontal hydraulic conductivity in the aquitard; and a partial penetration pumping well in an aquifer layer can improve the quality of the estimated parameters. This inverse approach was then used to analyze a pumping-recovery test conducted near the Platte River in southeastern Nebraska, USA. The hydraulic conductivities and specific yield were calculated for the aquitard and aquifer. The direct-push technique was used to generate sediment columns; permeameter tests on these columns produced the vertical hydraulic conductivities that are compatible with those obtained from the pumping-recovery test. Thus, the combination of the direct-push technique with permeameter tests provides a new method for estimation of vertical hydraulic conductivity. The hydraulic conductivity, determined from grain-size analysis, is smaller than the horizontal one but larger than the vertical one determined by the pumping-recovery test.     

Application of advanced borehole geophysical logging to managed aquifer recharge investigations

Communities and water utilities are increasingly being forced to implement more hydrogeologically complex alternative water supply and storage options to meet increasing freshwater demands. The performance of managed aquifer recharge projects, including aquifer storage and recovery, is controlled by the movement and mixing of stored freshwater and native groundwater, and fluid–rock interactions, which, in turn, are strongly influenced by aquifer heterogeneity. Advanced borehole geophysical logging techniques developed for the oil and gas industry such as neutron-gamma ray spectroscopy, microresistivity imaging, and nuclear magnetic resonance, can provide hitherto unavailable fine-scale data on porosity (total and effective), hydraulic conductivity, salinity, and the mineralogical composition of aquifers. Data on aquifer heterogeneity obtained from advanced borehole geophysics logs, combined with information on larger-scale aquifer hydraulics obtained from pumping tests, have the potential for improving aquifer characterization and modeling needed for feasibility assessments and the design and optimization of the operation of managed aquifer recharge systems.     

Combined climatic and geological forcings on the spatio-temporal variability of piezometric levels in the chalk aquifer of Upper Normandy (France) at pluridecennal scale

The temporal variability of water-level fluctuations in the chalk aquifer of Upper Normandy, France is constrained by natural climate fluctuations and is closely linked to the regional geological patterns. The chalk plateaus are covered with 5–50 m thick semi-permeable surficial formations; the thickness of the underlying chalk aquifer varies from 50 to 300 m. The relationship among climate oscillations, piezometric levels, and geologic structure were investigated by correlation, Fourier spectral, and continuous wavelet analyses of selected piezometric time-series data. Analysis focused on two piezometers located on the uplifted side of a major fault and two piezometers on the downthrown side. After generalization to other piezometers in the region, it was deduced that, in the downthrown compartments, a substantial aquifer and surficial formations thickness would imply a strong attenuation of annual variability, while multi-year variability is clearly expressed. Conversely, in the uplifted compartments, a thin layer of surficial formations and small thickness of the chalk authorizes strong variations on the annual mode with respect to the contribution of long-term climatic oscillations (multi-year variability). The results then demonstrated—and proposed a spatial determination of—the differential influence of geological patterns on the filtering of climate-induced oscillations in piezometric variability.     

Numerical groundwater-flow modeling to evaluate potential effects of pumping and recharge: implications for sustainable groundwater management in the Mahanadi delta region,India

Process-based groundwater models are useful to understand complex aquifer systems and make predictions about their response to hydrological changes. A conceptual model for evaluating responses to environmental changes is presented, considering the hydrogeologic framework, flow processes, aquifer hydraulic properties, boundary conditions, and sources and sinks of the groundwater system. Based on this conceptual model, a quasi-three-dimensional transient groundwater flow model was designed using MODFLOW to simulate the groundwater system of Mahanadi River delta, eastern India. The model was constructed in the context of an upper unconfined aquifer and lower confined aquifer, separated by an aquitard. Hydraulic heads of 13 shallow wells and 11 deep wells were used to calibrate transient groundwater conditions during 1997–2006, followed by validation (2007–2011). The aquifer and aquitard hydraulic properties were obtained by pumping tests and were calibrated along with the rainfall recharge. The statistical and graphical performance indicators suggested a reasonably good simulation of groundwater flow over the study area. Sensitivity analysis revealed that groundwater level is most sensitive to the hydraulic conductivities of both the aquifers, followed by vertical hydraulic conductivity of the confining layer. The calibrated model was then employed to explore groundwater-flow dynamics in response to changes in pumping and recharge conditions. The simulation results indicate that pumping has a substantial effect on the confined aquifer flow regime as compared to the unconfined aquifer. The results and insights from this study have important implications for other regional groundwater modeling studies, especially in multi-layered aquifer systems.     

The dependence of stream depletion by seasonal pumping on various hydraulic characteristics and engineering factors

Compensation pumping is used to alleviate deficiencies in streamflow discharge during dry seasons. Short-term groundwater pumping can use aquifer storage instead of catchment-zone water until the drawdown reaches the edge of the stream. The capacitance is a complex, dimensionless parameter of an aquifer system that defines the delayed effect on streamflow when there is groundwater pumping. This parameter is a function of aquifer hydraulic characteristics, pumping time, and distance between the well and stream edge; the latter can involve stream leakance and vertical leakance of an associated aquitard. Three typical hydraulic cases of combined water systems (major catchment-zone wells close to the stream and compensation pumping wells) were classified depending on their capacitance structure (i.e. the relationship between surface water and groundwater): (1) perfect hydraulic connection between the stream and aquifer; (2) imperfect hydraulic connection between the stream and aquifer; and (3) essentially imperfect hydraulic connection between the stream and the underlying confined aquifer. The impact of various hydraulic characteristics and engineering factors on stream depletion was examined by conceptual and numerical modeling. To predict the suitability and efficiency of a combined water system application, regression tests were undertaken on unit stream depletion and capacitance, and power dependencies were defined.     

振荡试验确定倾斜承压含水层水文地质参数

为评价振荡试验在获取倾斜承压含水层水文地质参数过程中含水层倾角对计算结果的影响,基于Kipp模型推导了考虑承压含水层倾角的振荡试验解析解模型。倾斜承压含水层量纲一贮水系数和量纲一导水系数不变条件下,测试井-含水层系统的量纲一阻尼系数随着倾角的增加而增加。修正模型计算的量纲一阻尼系数与Kipp模型计算的量纲一阻尼系数偏差10%以上时,必须考虑倾角的影响并且承压含水层倾角对水头响应曲线造成影响临界角度约为34°。修正模型和Kipp模型对现场振荡试验水头响应曲线分析结果的差异表明,忽略含水层倾角会对倾斜承压含水层导水系数和贮水系数的计算结果产生较大误差。     

A comparison of estimated and calculated effective porosity

 Effective porosity in solute-transport analyses is usually estimated rather than calculated from tracer tests in the field or laboratory. Calculated values of effective porosity in the laboratory on three different textured samples were compared to estimates derived from particle-size distributions and soil–water characteristic curves. The agreement was poor and it seems that no clear relationships exist between effective porosity calculated from laboratory tracer tests and effective porosity estimated from particle-size distributions and soil–water characteristic curves. A field tracer test in a sand-and-gravel aquifer produced a calculated effective porosity of approximately 0.17. By comparison, estimates of effective porosity from textural data, moisture retention, and published values were approximately 50–90% greater than the field calibrated value. Thus, estimation of effective porosity for chemical transport is highly dependent on the chosen transport model and is best obtained by laboratory or field tracer tests. Received, March 1997 · Revised, August 1997 · Accepted, August 1997     

Modeling approaches and strategies for data-scarce aquifers: example of the Dar es Salaam aquifer in Tanzania

Management of groundwater resources can be improved by using groundwater models to perform risk analyses and to improve development strategies, but a lack of extensive basic data often limits the implementation of sophisticated models. Dar es Salaam in Tanzania is an example of a city where increasing groundwater use in a Pleistocene aquifer is causing groundwater-related problems such as saline intrusion along the coastline, lowering of water-table levels, and contamination of pumping wells. The lack of a water-level monitoring network introduces a problem for basic data collection and model calibration and validation. As a replacement, local water-supply wells were used for measuring groundwater depth, and well-top heights were estimated from a regional digital elevation model to recalculate water depths to hydraulic heads. These were used to draw a regional piezometric map. Hydraulic parameters were estimated from short-time pumping tests in the local wells, but variation in hydraulic conductivity was attributed to uncertainty in well characteristics (information often unavailable) and not to aquifer heterogeneity. A MODFLOW model was calibrated with a homogeneous hydraulic conductivity field and a sensitivity analysis between the conductivity and aquifer recharge showed that average annual recharge will likely be in the range 80–100 mm/year.     

用有限混合网络模型计算天津地热田热水量

针对因地热水位动态资料不足而导致的水量计算结果偏离实际的状况，以天津地热田雾迷山组热储层为例，建立了利用放射性同位素^14C资料进行地热水量计算的有限混合网络模型，并利用1998—2001年的水位、水量及^14C资料进行了模型的识别，得到了有效孔隙度和弹性释水率等水文地质参数，利用所建立的模型及水文地质参数计算了地热水的储存量及补给量。研究表明，地热水的开采主要是消耗弹性储量。     

Hydrogeological factors: their association and relationship with seasonal water-table fluctuation in the composite hardrock Aravalli terrain,India

Seasonal rise of groundwater level manifests aquifer recharge through infiltration. Spatial variation of aquifer recharge within the same basin or terrain is a function of terrain heterogeneity governed by different hydrogeological factors. However, assessment of relations between water-level fluctuations (WLF) with various hydrogeological factors is not straightforward. In the present study, various hydrogeological factors that could influence aquifer recharge in the deformed crystalline Aravalli terrain of India have been analysed. Frequency plots have been used to assess the variations in WLF under different geological parameter classes. Seasonal WLF associated with these factors have been compared using various statistical parameters. Parametric and non-parametric statistical tests have been used to determine the statistical significance of fluctuation difference. The study infers that saturated thickness, lineament, lineament-intersection, and drainage beside surface elevation and well depth are the main geological factors influencing aquifer recharge in the Aravalli terrain. Median values under these factors are integrated and compared with the interpolated values of mean WLF at hypothetical well locations. They are found to closely resemble each other. This infers capability and applicability of the technique in identifying key factors governing WLF, and in predicting WLF at unexplored locations.