Mapping groundwater development costs for the transboundary Western Aquifer Basin, Palestine/Israel

The costs of developing groundwater in the Western Aquifer Basin vary considerably across the West Bank and Israel. One of the main reasons for this variability is the diverse hydrogeological conditions within the aquifer. Using data from recent hydrogeological investigations, an estimate of the variation of both the drilling and pumping costs was calculated and then mapped across the Upper and Lower Aquifers within the Western Aquifer Basin. These groundwater cost maps proved helpful in analyzing the impacts of hydrogeology on water supply, and also in communicating complex hydrogeological information to a broader audience. The maps clearly demonstrate that the most cost-effective area to develop groundwater is along the Green Line—the 1949 armistice boundary between Israel and the Palestinian West Bank. Any migration of this boundary eastwards will affect the cost and feasibility of developing groundwater within Palestine, making abstraction from the Upper Aquifer impracticable, and increasing the cost of developing the Lower Aquifer. Therefore, the separation wall, which is being constructed to the east of the Armistice Line in Palestinian territory, will significantly reduce the ability of the Palestinians to develop groundwater resources.     

The potential for convection and implications for geothermal energy in the Perth Basin, Western Australia

Convection of groundwater in aquifers can create areas of anomalously high temperature at shallow depths which could be exploited for geothermal energy. Temperature measurements in the Perth Basin (Western Australia) reveal thermal patterns that are consistent with convection in the Yarragadee Aquifer. This observation is supported by Rayleigh number calculations, which show that convection is possible within the range of aquifer thickness, geothermal gradient, salinity gradient and permeability encountered in the Yarragadee Aquifer, assuming that the aquifer can be treated as a homogeneous anisotropic layer. Numerical simulations of convection in a simplified model of the Yarragadee Aquifer show that: (1) the spacing of convective upwellings can be predicted from aquifer thickness and permeability anisotropy; (2) convective upwellings may be circular or elongate in plan view; (3) convective upwellings create significant temperature enhancements relative to the conductive profile; (4) convective flow rates are similar to regional groundwater flow rates; and (5) convection homogenises salinity within the aquifer. Further work is required to constrain the average horizontal and vertical permeability of the Yarragadee Aquifer, to assess the validity of treating the aquifer as a homogeneous anisotropic layer, and to determine the impact of realistic aquifer geometry and advection on convection.     

Evaluation of groundwater withdrawal from a mountain watershed, Colorado, USA

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the groundwater-withdrawal potential of the Fraser River watershed, a mountainous drainage system in north-central Colorado. Laboratory tests, field investigations, and numerical modeling are conducted to present a quantitative understanding of the watershed’s groundwater-flow system. Aquifer hydraulic conductivity values obtained from aquifer tests range from 1E?5 to 1E?3 m/s. Groundwater withdrawal is concentrated in channel-fill deposits of the Troublesome Formation within the Fraser basin. A steady state groundwater-flow model of the Fraser River watershed is developed and calibrated using 24 observation wells in the Fraser River valley and estimated baseflow of the Fraser River. Modeling results suggest that surface recharge is the major source of groundwater in the watershed. Groundwater exits the watershed through evapotranspiration and discharge to rivers. Transient groundwater-flow modeling evaluates future withdrawal scenarios using the hydraulic head distribution from the steady state model as the initial condition. Drawdown within Troublesome Formation aquifers from the current pumping schedule approaches 2 m. When the daily pumping rate is doubled, drawdown approaches 4 m. The radius of influence is hundreds of meters to 1 km. Pumping wells withdraw approximately 2 and 15 % of groundwater flowing through the well field for hydraulic conductivity of 1E?3 and 1E?5 m/s, respectively. This study suggests that the groundwater system at the Fraser Valley could sustain current and future withdrawals, given that the current recharge condition is maintained.     

Investigation into subsidence hazards due to groundwater pumping from Aquifer II in Changzhou,China

This paper presents an investigation into increased deformation of Aquifer II caused by groundwater pumping from the aquifer in Changzhou, China. As groundwater levels of aquifers have been decreasing in recent decades due to uncontrolled water pumping, land subsidence is becoming a serious geohazard in Changzhou. Based on recently reported field data, the compression of aquitards has not increased compared to that of aquifers with the same scale of layer thickness. The Cosserat continuum model was adopted to analyse the observed phenomenon in this study. A classic Cauchy continuum model is also used for comparison. The comparison between these two models indicates that the proposed approach can interpret the increased deformation well, and the classic Cauchy continuum model underestimates the aquifer deformation as it does not consider shear displacement and macro-rotation. A discussion on the relationship between the groundwater level in the aquifer and subsidence is then undertaken. The results show that the severity of the annual subsidence is correlated with the variation in groundwater level in Aquifer II. To mitigate the subsidence hazards, countermeasures should be adopted to avoid the shear stress in aquifers which results from the high hydraulic gradient, by the appropriate allocation of pumping wells and by restricting groundwater withdrawal volume from each pumping operation.     

Multi-observation well aquifer test case study: is recovery coincident with the cessation of pumping?

Due to increases in water demand, the City of Kenedy, TX, USA must expand their small drinking water supply in the Gulf Coast aquifer system. Groundwater wells owned by the City of Kenedy, Karnes County, TX were examined to estimate properties for the Jasper aquifer. Conditions of four wells were assessed, after which two wells were rehabilitated and used as pumping wells in aquifer tests. Aquifer tests show that recovery in observation wells was not coincident with the cessation of pumping. Post-pumping data were selectively excluded so that only recovery data were used for analyses. Transmissivity for the Jasper aquifer ranges from 102 to 242 m² d^?1, and storativity ranges from 6.9E?05 to 3.3E?04. Transmissivity computed from recovery data was approximately 25 % higher than transmissivity computed from time-drawdown data. Field measured specific capacities and drawdowns were compared to theoretical specific capacities and drawdowns to calculate pumping well efficiencies in the range of 52.2–99.4 %. This study indicates that water demand for the City of Kenedy could be met by incorporating the tested wells into the water supply system. Future studies should be designed to estimate groundwater recharge rates and a complete water balance for computing a sustainable maximum annual yield.     

Aquifer parameter estimation using tide-induced water-table fluctuations in the Biscayne Aquifer,Miami-Dade County,Florida (USA)

The Biscayne Aquifer (Florida, USA) is a coastal, shallow, unconfined, and heterogeneous aquifer with high water tables, composed of less-permeable sand to highly permeable karstic limestone. These properties make the Biscayne Aquifer one of the world’s most productive groundwater resources. The aquifer’s high yield and non-Darcian flow cause challenges for estimating aquifer parameters, which are essential for understanding groundwater processes and managing and protecting the groundwater resources. Water-table fluctuations in the Biscayne Aquifer are associated with astronomical tidal forces and gate operations on canal water-control structures. Analysis of observed groundwater level fluctuations can provide an understanding of the connectivity between the aquifer, Biscayne Bay, and the water level in the canals. Further, groundwater level fluctuations can be used for aquifer parameter estimation. In this research, observed ocean water levels measured at tidal stations and groundwater levels are fitted to Jacob’s analytical solution, where the amplitude of the groundwater head fluctuation decreases exponentially, and the time lag increases with distance from the shore. Observed groundwater levels were obtained from monitoring wells along the Miami-Dade shore and the barrier island of Miami Beach. Results indicate that Jacob’s solution is effective for aquifer parameter estimation in Miami Beach, where monitoring wells are closer to the shore. Estimated hydraulic conductivity appears to increase by four orders of magnitude to approximately 1 m s^–1 as the distance from shore increases. Constructing monitoring wells closer to the shore in Miami-Dade County and elsewhere would permit improved aquifer parameter estimation and support enhanced groundwater modeling efforts.

     

江汉平原典型含水层水文地质参数反演

含水层参数对于定性分析区域地下水资源评价、数值模拟及预报、开发利用与保护及科学管理具有重要意义,而江汉平原水文地质参数求解的研究却相对较少.2015年江汉平原1:50 000水文地质调查项目完成杨林尾图幅与陆溪口图幅,选择杨林尾图幅和陆溪口图幅中的4个代表性钻孔,分别做了3组抽水试验和一组压水试验.对抽水数据使用Dupuit公式法结合抽水稳定阶段数据求解含水层参数,同时利用Aquifer Test软件中Theis标准曲线法、直线图解法对抽水试验中非稳定条件下抽水数据对含水层参数求解,得到孔隙水含水层渗透系数及弹性给水度;利用压水试验工程规范求解基岩裂隙含水层的渗透系数.探讨了利用非稳定抽水试验条件下求解含水层参数方法的可行性及该方法的优势.计算结果表明:杨林尾镇浅层(20.2~64.55 m)含水层渗透系数为0.075 m/d,弹性给水度为5.8×10-2;深层(138~160 m)含水层渗透系数为9.89 m/d,弹性给水度为2.3×10-5;陆溪口镇浅层(19.4~36.4 m)含水层渗透系数1.26 m/d,弹性给水度为1.1×10-1;基岩渗透系数为0.012 m/d.通过结果对比分析发现对于单孔非稳定抽水试验,对前期水位降深数据筛选分析,同样可以利用非稳定井流理论反演含水层参数,结果比较可靠.      

某傍河污染场地排污河与地下水水力联系模拟研究

为研究常见地表排污河对地下水造成的影响,选择安徽省淮北市濉河某傍河区域进行研究。在对研究场地开展野外调查、抽水试验、微水试验等工作的基础上,从水动力学角度对研究场地地下水进行系统研究。应用Processing Modflow建立了该研究场地的水文地质模型,根据各均衡区间水量交换情况揭示了排污河、深浅含水层间的水力联系状况。模拟结果表明,排污河与浅层含水层之间没有明显的水力联系;深、浅含水层之间的水力联系微弱。     

Numerical modeling of groundwater resource management options in the East Oweinat area,SW Egypt

Southwest Egypt is an arid area with no surface water and limited resources of useable groundwater in the well-known Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System. These groundwater reserves have been heavily exploited since the 1960s, which has led to substantial decline in the potentiometric surface of the aquifer. A calibrated regional numerical model with refined grids on the pumping centers has been used to investigate the hydrodynamic impacts of different groundwater management options on the potentiometry of the aquifers. The results indicate that there is a real danger of either dewatering the shallow aquifer in some areas (e.g., Kharga Oasis), or increasing the water depth to uneconomic lifting depth. They also indicate that, although the planned extraction rates in Dakhla, Farafra, and Bahariya oases are feasible for at least the coming 100 years, the present rate for Kharga Oasis and the planned rate for the East Oweinat area have to be reduced substantially.     

鄂尔多斯盆地都思兔河流域白垩系含水层特征及供水前景分析

在鄂尔多斯盆地都思兔河流域供水水文地质详查的基础上,通过水文地质钻探、抽水试验、样品分析等手段,查明了流域含水层的结构、埋深以及含水层和隔水层在水平和垂直方向上的变化规律,探讨了各含水层之间的水力联系,并求取了含水层的水文地质参数;对比圈定了包乐浩晓、巴彦布拉格、好勒包勒吉3处富水区;采用地下水流数值模拟方法对上述3处富水区地下水开采量进行计算,提出了27种地下水开采方案,并经过对比得到地下水开采推荐方案。结果表明：包乐浩晓、巴彦布拉格、好勒包勒吉3处富水区主要补给为侧向径流及大气降水入渗补给,排泄方式以潜水面蒸发及向河流排泄为主;在地下水浅埋区,结合含水层单井涌水量的大小,确定采用管井开采方式、中段悬挂式非完整井结构,平均布井,井深300m,单一开采白垩系环河组的地下水,最大限度夺取潜水蒸发排泄量;根据推荐方案,上述3个富水区总开采量达到123500m3／d,可为该地区地下水资源开发与利用提供技术保障。     

Development of tools to estimate conveyance losses in the Truckee River, USA

A method to estimate stream conveyance losses, including stream bank seepage and evapotranspiration from riparian areas, was developed for the Truckee River in California and Nevada (USA). Aquifer diffusivity is the primary variable required to compute aquifer head and seepage. Head and seepage conceptual models developed in previous studies were calibrated using stream stage and aquifer head at five sites along the Truckee River. The equations for head require numerical convolution to solve. It was found that head is insensitive to diffusivity and a single value for diffusivity provides good results at all study sites. Also, because releases from storage are usually prescribed as a step increase in flow for a given period of time followed by a step decrease in flow, an analytic solution for volume of seepage can be used in place of numerical convolution. Under typical operating conditions, seepage volume represents a small fraction of the total reservoir releases. Uncertainty in seepage estimates can be reduced with increased accuracy in hydraulic conductivity. This work demonstrates a valuable technique to estimate conveyance losses under natural and managed stream flow.     

Groundwater quality degradation as a result of overpumping in the delta Wadi El-Arish area,Sinai Peninsula,Egypt

The delta Wadi El-Arish area of the Sinai Peninsula is one of the most important parts of Egypt for industrial and agricultural expansion projects because of its relatively abundant supply of groundwater. This study focuses on the hydrogeology and hydrochemistry of the Quaternary aquifer in the delta Wadi El-Arish area and on the impacts pumping has had on groundwater quality. The objectives were to determine the relationships between groundwater pumping and water levels and water quality, to estimate the hydraulic parameters of the Quaternary aquifer, and to determine the hydrochemistry of groundwater in the Quaternary aquifer and its suitability for irrigation. The conclusions are: (1) potentiometric surface elevations have declined by an average of about 0.5 m since 1981 in response to an increase in pumping, (2) the transmissivity of the lower Pleistocene calcareous sandstone (kurkar) unit is higher than the transmissivity of the upper Pleistocene alluvium, (3) groundwater in the Pleistocene aquifer is augmented with groundwater leaking from the overlying Holocene sand dune deposits through the intervening sandy clay aquitard, (4) groundwater in the kurkar is of lower quality than groundwater in the alluvium, (5) total dissolved solids (TDS) concentrations have increased by an average of about 1500 ppm since 1962, (6) an increase in saltwater intrusion has occurred in the northern part of the study area, and (7) the irrigation suitability of groundwater pumped from wells in much of the area is limited to salt tolerant crops. Our recommendations are: (1) no new pumping wells should be drilled and no increase in pumping rates should be allowed in the delta Wadi El-Arish area, (2) reliable estimates of the quantity of groundwater recharge should be made, (3) flood irrigation systems should be replaced by either drip or sprinkler     

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.     

Modeling groundwater/surface-water interactions in an Alpine valley (the Aosta Plain,NW Italy): the effect of groundwater abstraction on surface-water resources

A groundwater flow model of the Alpine valley aquifer in the Aosta Plain (NW Italy) showed that well pumping can induce river streamflow depletions as a function of well location. Analysis of the water budget showed that ～80% of the water pumped during 2 years by a selected well in the downstream area comes from the baseflow of the main river discharge. Alluvial aquifers hosted in Alpine valleys fall within a particular hydrogeological context where groundwater/surface-water relationships change from upstream to downstream as well as seasonally. A transient groundwater model using MODFLOW2005 and the Streamflow-Routing (SFR2) Package is here presented, aimed at investigating water exchanges between the main regional river (Dora Baltea River, a left-hand tributary of the Po River), its tributaries and the underlying shallow aquifer, which is affected by seasonal oscillations. The three-dimensional distribution of the hydraulic conductivity of the aquifer was obtained by means of a specific coding system within the database TANGRAM. Both head and flux targets were used to perform the model calibration using PEST. Results showed that the fluctuations of the water table play an important role in groundwater/surface-water interconnections. In upstream areas, groundwater is recharged by water leaking through the riverbed and the well abstraction component of the water budget changes as a function of the hydraulic conditions of the aquifer. In downstream areas, groundwater is drained by the river and most of the water pumped by wells comes from the base flow component of the river discharge.     

鄂尔多斯盆地白垩系含水层沉积学初探

“含水层沉积学”是沉积学、水文地质学、油气储层地质学、地球化学等相互交叉综合的产物,是以沉积学、水文地质学理论为基础,以沉积含水层为主要研究对象,以查明地下水赋存和循环条件、地下水系统结构特征、地下水水质成因与分布以及地下水富集规律为主要研究内容,最终服务于地下水资源勘查评价的一门边缘分支学科。含水层沉积学及水文地质综合研究表明,受到沉积相类型及其空间展布的明显控制,鄂尔多斯盆地白垩系地下水赋存、循环、富集条件以及地下水水质分布总体具有北好南差、盆地南部具有下好上差的宏观规律。     

Water table fluctuation analyses and associated empirical approach to predict spatial distribution of water table at Yeşilköy/AgiosAndronikos aquifer

The groundwater of the deep Ye?ilköy aquifer is the only water resource for agricultural and domestic consumption at the Karpaz Peninsula of Cyprus, which stretches approximately 100 km from the northeast of capital Nicosia to the northern tip of Cyprus. During the last decade, over-pumping and following dry periods have depleted the groundwater resources and the water surface elevation of the aquifer has dropped. The aim of this study is to understand the behavior of the Ye?ilköy aquifer in the last decade for the proper management of groundwater resources. This has been achieved based on well survey and field survey studies, monitoring programs followed by pumping tests, and safe yield analysis. Most of the research effort has been focused on field and well survey studies to quantify agricultural water consumption and abstraction rates from the aquifer. A long-term groundwater level monitoring program, short-term continuous groundwater monitoring and pumping tests provided information for the regression analyses while deriving a sixth order polynomial relationship between the period parameter and the head parameter. The equation was helpful to predict the short-term behavior of the water level when the present hydrogeological conditions prevail. The pumping test results satisfied the hydraulic properties of calcarenite formation yielding T = 1,782 m²/day and S = 0.0012. The results of safe yield analysis show that the annual deficit of the aquifer is 0.496 million cubic meters (MCM), which is equivalent to a 0.6 m drop in groundwater levels per year. Finally, the resultant annual safe yield of the aquifer is estimated as 0.84 MCM.     

Stepwise inversion of a groundwater flow model with multi-scale observation data

Based on the regional hydrogeology and the stratigraphy beneath the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) site, New Mexico (USA), a site-scale groundwater model has been built with more than 20 stratified hydrofacies. A stepwise inverse method was developed to estimate permeabilities for these hydrofacies by coupling observation data from different sources and at various spatial scales including single-well test, multiple-well pumping test and regional aquifer monitoring data. Statistical analyses of outcrop permeability measurements and single-well test results were used to define the prior distributions of the parameters. These distributions were used to define the parameter initial values and the lower and upper bounds for inverse modeling. A number of inverse modeling steps were performed including the use of drawdown data from the pump tests at two wells (PM-2 and PM-4) separately, and a joint inversion coupling PM-2 and PM-4 pump test data and head data from regional aquifer monitoring. Parameter sensitivity coefficients for different data sets were computed to analyze if the model parameters can be estimated accurately with the data provided at different steps. The joint inversion offers a reasonable fit to all data sets. The uncertainty of estimated parameters for the hydrofacies is addressed with the parameter confidence intervals.     

Vertical movement of water in a High Plains Aquifer induced by a pumping well

Field observation and numerical simulations were carried out to evaluate the hydraulic relationship between the shallow and deep aquifer of a High Plains Aquifer system, in which shallow and deep aquifers are separated by an aquitard. Pumping from the lower aquifer resulted in a small drawdown in the upper aquifer and a larger drawdown in the aquitard; pumping from the shallow aquifer caused a small drawdown in the aquitard and the deep aquifer. Analysis of pumping test data gives the values of the hydraulic conductivity of the aquitard and the deep aquifer. Long-term observation of groundwater levels in the shallow and deep aquifers showed that a strong downward hydraulic gradient was maintained during an irrigation season. Numerical simulations were used to calculate the induced leakage of water from the shallow to the deep aquifer. Water budget analyses suggested that after pumping continues for a couple of days, the leakage from the overlying layers begins to supply the majority of the withdrawal from the deep aquifer. However, the induced leakage from the upper shallow aquifer can travel only a few meters into the aquitard, and it can not reach the lower aquifer during a 90 day pumping period. The major portion of the induced leakage occurred during the pumping period, but a small leakage can continue as a residual effect after the pumping period. The vertical hydraulic conductivity of the aquitard plays a major role in partitioning the ratio of the induced leakage for the pumping and after-pumping periods.     

矿区水文地质研究进展及中长期发展方向

矿区水资源保护和矿山防治水这两个互相矛盾又紧密联系的问题给传统的矿山水文地质学带来了更多的挑战和机遇,迫切需要新理论、新技术的发展。为了更好的实现矿区未来地下水资源的开采、利用与保护以及采煤安全和区域水资源可持续利用,本文选择长治盆地为重点研究区,从采动引起的覆岩移动入手,在资料分析的基础上,采用相似材料模拟、综合物探、野外监测、现场注(压)水试验的方法,运用水文地质学原理研究了采煤引起含水层结构变异厚度及其渗透性变化特征;在此基础上,以长治盆地集中开采区水文地质条件和野外监测数据为基础,建立了区域地下水流场三维动态模拟试验台,为研究含水层结构变异后的地下水循环机理和水资源重新分布提供技术支撑;本文同时指出了我国矿山水文地质研究目前存在的问题和面临的挑战,分析了矿山水文地质学科的发展趋势,展望了未来相关分支学科和关键核心技术的发展方向与前景。     

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.