Applications of Dual-Wall Reverse-Circulation Drilling in Ground Water Exploration and Monitoring

Dual-wall reverse-circulation drilling uses flush-threaded double-wall drill pipe and high-pressure air to provide continuous return of formation and water samples. Cuttings and formation waters are not contaminated with drilling additives or mixed with other borehole material. Up-hole velocity of about 70 ft/sec provides reliable logging of water, mineral or contaminant-bearing strata. Water samples representative of specific strata may be airlifted or bailed to the surface.
In the percussion hammer system, dual-wall drill pipe is advanced through chiefly unconsolidated material by the percussion action of an above-ground pile hammer. The borehole is drilled and temporarily cased in one pass. Wells or monitoring devices are installed as the drill pipe is hydraulically retracted during construction. A rotary head may be adapted as an option to allow dual-wall rotary drilling into consolidated or crystalline formations through a percussion hammer drill string temporarily left in place as a conductor.
The complex geology and variety of geoenvironmental problems in southern California has provided a testing ground for dual-wall drilling on hazardous material site investigations. Several case histories have demonstrated the capabilities and versatility of this method, including: (1) the installation of 4-inch and 6-inch diameter gasoline monitoring and recovery wells through gravels and cobbles at a filling station where hollow-stem auger drilling failed; (2) the confirmation of a dry borehole initially drilled by direct rotary at a landfill; and (3) multiple installations of monitoring devices through municipal refuse at a city of Los Angeles landfill.     

Drill-Through Casing Driver Drilling Method for Construction of Monitoring Wells in Coarse, Unconsolidated Sediments

Hole stability problems occurring during construction of monitoring wells in coarse, unconsolidated alluvium can be overcome by using a drill-through casing driver mounted on a standard top-head drive rotary rig. Steel casing is driven contemporaneously with drilling, providing continuous hole stability. Samples of aquifer material and ground water can be taken at discrete depths as drilling proceeds. Monitoring well completion is accomplished by: (1) using the steel casing as an open-ended piezometer; (2) installing a telescoping well screen; (3) plugging the casing end and perforating desired intervals, (4) installing one or more smaller diameter wells, and then (5) pulling back the steel casing. Advantages of this drilling method include maintenance of hole stability during drilling and well completion, faster borehole construction time than traditional methods in coarse alluvial deposits and other poorly sorted formations, and collection of representative samples of the geologic formations and ground water; additionally, drilling fluids are not required.     

A New Multilevel Ground Water Monitoring System Using Multichannel Tubing

A new multilevel ground water monitoring system has been developed that uses custom-extruded flexible 1.6-inch (4.1 cm) outside-diameter (O.D.) multichannel HOPE tubing (referred to as Continuous Multichannel Tubing or CMT) to monitor as many as seven discrete zones within a single borehole in either unconsolidated sediments or bedrock. Prior to inserting the tubing in the borehole, ports are created that allow ground water to enter six outer pie-shaped channels (nominal diameter = 0.5 inch [1.3 cm]) and a central hexagonal center channel (nominal diameter = 0.4 inch [1 cm]) at different depths, facilitating the measurement of depth-discrete piezometric heads and the collection of depth-discrete ground water samples. Sand packs and annular seals between the various monitored zones can be installed using conventional tremie methods. Alternatively, bentonite packers and prepacked sand packs have been developed that are attached to the tubing at the ground surface, facilitating precise positioning of annular seals and sand packs. Inflatable rubber packers for permanent or temporary installations in bedrock aquifers are currently undergoing site trials. Hydraulic heads are measured with conventional water-level meters or electronic pressure transducers to generate vertical profiles of hydraulic head. Ground water samples are collected using peristaltic pumps, small-diameter bailers, inertial lift pumps, or small-diameter canister samplers. For monitoring hydrophobic organic compounds, the CMT tubing is susceptible to both positive and negative biases caused by sorption, desorption, and diffusion. These biases can be minimized by: (1) purging the channels prior to sampling, (2) collecting samples from separate 0.25-inch (0.64 cm) O.D. Teflon sampling tubing inserted to the bottom of each sampling channel, or (3) collecting the samples downhole using sampling devices positioned next to the intake ports. More than 1000 CMT multilevel wells have been installed in North America and Europe to depths up to 260 feet (79 m) below ground surface. These wells have been installed in boreholes created in unconsolidated sediments and bedrock using a wide range of drilling equipment, including sonic, air rotary, diamond-bit coring, hollow-stem auger, and direct push. This paper presents a discussion of three field trials of the system, demonstrating its versatility and illustrating the type of depth-discrete data that can be collected with the system.     

Tracer Test to Evaluate Dilution of Ground Water from Lost Circulation

Lost circulation, the inadvertent injection of drilling fluids into a highly permeable and/or fractured aquifer during rotary drilling, may result in collection of spurious information if the lost drilling fluids are not adequately purged before sampling the ground water. The purpose of this study was to determine whether removal of the volume of water lost during coring of a monitoring well in the carbonate Scotch Grove Formation (Silurian, east central Iowa) necessarily ensures collection of representative ground water samples. To monitor dilution of the ground water due to lost circulation, rhodamine dye was added to the drilling water and dye recovery was measured in samples collected during purging of five separate 5- to 10-foot intervals.
Circulation loss occurred in all five intervals, ranging from nearly 200 gallons in the upper permeable portion of the Scotch Grove to 25 gallons in the less permeable Buck Creek Member below. When the volume of water purged from the upper three intervals corresponded to the volume of water lost during coring, the purge water still contained 11 to 20 percent dyed drilling water. As purging continued, the proportion of drilling water in the samples decreased slowly. After purging more than 200 gallons of water, 86 to 98 percent of the dyed drilling water was recovered from the five test intervals. Four traditionally measured water quality parameters-pH, temperature, specific conductance, and dissolved oxygen — were less useful than the dye recovery for distinguishing drilling water from formation water in those zones in which the ground water quality was similar to the drilling water. These results indicate that the determination of the quantity of water to be purged prior to sampling must be based, at least in part, on aquifer lithology and hydraulic characteristics.     

Organic Contaminants in Portland Cements Used in Monitoring Well Construction

We report the results of two independent laboratory investigations to evaluate total and leachable concentrations of glycols, glycol ethers, phenol, and other compounds in representative Type I and Type I/II Portland cement products that United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), The American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) and others recommend as annular sealants in monitoring well completions. Water well drillers also use these cements in their well completions. The EPA has included some of these compounds for analysis in their National Hydraulic Fracturing Study to evaluate the effects of hydraulic fracturing on ground‐ and surface water resources. During any contaminant investigation, materials used in monitoring or water well drilling, completion, development, and sampling must be free of the chemicals being targeted by the regulatory agency. Three of five bulk cement products we tested contained part per million (ppm) (mg/kg) concentrations of diethylene glycol, ethylene glycol, tetraethylene glycol, and triethylene glycol; chemicals added as grinding aids during manufacture. Some cements also contained ppb (µg/kg) concentrations of benzoic acid, phenols, propylene glycol, and 2‐butoxyethanol. Leaching of cured cement samples in water produced ppm (mg/L) concentrations of glycols in the supernatant. These results show that cured cements in monitoring or water wells can contaminate groundwater samples with glycols and phenol. Our findings should help prevent future sample bias and false positives when testing for glycol compounds and phenol in groundwater samples from monitoring or water wells and highlight the need to test materials or products used in monitoring or water well drilling, completions, development, and sampling to avoid false positives when sampling and analyzing for less common analytical constituents.     

Vertical Contaminant Profiling of Volatile Organic* in a Deep Fractured Basalt Aquifer

Volatile organic compounds delected in ground water from wells at Test Area North (TAN) at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL) prompted RCRA facility investigations in 1989 and 1990 and a CERCLA-driven RI/FS in 1992. In order to address ground water treatment feasibility, one of the main objectives, of the 1992 remedial investigation was to determine the vertical extent of ground water contamination, where the principle contaminant, of concern is trichloroethylene (TCE). It was hypothesized that a sedimentary interbed at depth in the fractured basalt aquifer could be inhibiting vertical migration of contaminants to lower aquifers. Due to the high cost of drilling and installation of ground water monitoring wells at this facility (greater than $100,000 per well), a real time method was proposed for obtaining and analyzing ground water samples during drilling to allow accurate placement of well screens in zones of predicted VOC contamination. This method utilized an inflatable pump packer pressure transducer system interfaced with a datalogger and PC at land surface. This arrangement allowed for real lime monitoring of hydraulic head above and below the packer to detect leakage around the packer during pumping and enabled collection of head data during pumping for estimating hydrologic properties. Analytical results were obtained in about an hour from an on-site mobile laboratory equipped with a gas chromalograplvmass spectrometer (GC/MS). With the hydrologic and analytical results in hand, a decision was made to either complete the well or continue drilling to the next test zone. In almost every case, analytical results of ground water samples taken from the newly installed wells closely replicated the water quality of ground water samples obtained through the pump packer system.     

A New Valved and Air-Vented Surge Plunger for Developing Small-Diameter Monitor Wells

To properly develop 2-inch diameter monitor wells, large volumes of water, drilling fluids and fine-grained materials must be removed from the sandpack and surrounding formation over short periods of time. A valved and air-vented surge plunger has been designed which can be used to effectively develop 2-inch diameter wells. The valving and air-venting concepts for surge plungers are not new, but the design concepts had to be refined to facilitate their efficient use in 2-inch diameter wells.
Prototypes of the surge plunger have been field tested. The tests indicate that the design is both effective and durable as a result of its dimensions, configurations and materials. Important features of the surge plunger include: the dimensions and weight of the surge block; the thickness, layering, diameter and material of the valves and parts; and the method of attachment and design of the air-venting ports. This device is an important addition to the growing arsenal of equipment and tools for 2-inch diameter, standpipe monitoring wells.     

Interceptor Trenches for Positive Ground Water Control

Interceptor trenches are an effective ground water control method at waste management sites. Trenches may be installed without disturbing the wastes, and the withdrawal of ground water recovers contaminants that have left the waste management perimeter. The rapid and steep depression of the piezometric surface on both sides of the trench is positive proof of a barrier to horizontal flow across the trench in the affected permeable units.
Historically, the construction of interceptor trenches has been very difficult. A new and efficient installation method has been developed and successfully utilized for several applications at a petrochemical facility on the Texas coastal plain. Rapid and cost-effective installation is made possible by innovations in sump and trench construction and the tie-in between the two.
The sump is constructed first using standard well construction techniques to drill a 96-inch diameter hole to contain the 42-inch diameter polyethylene pipe sump. A European designed and fabricated trenching machine then excavates the trench, inserts the drainage pipe and backfills with sand and/or gravel in one operation. A specially designed perforated pipe entry door built into the side of the sump barrel provides for efficient and safe connection of the drainage pipe to the specially designed collection sump. The effectiveness of interceptor trenches has been confirmed in full scale applications through the reversal of flow gradients and the prevention of continued horizontal migration of ground water contaminants.     

Monitoring Well Completion Evaluation with Borehole Geophysical Density Logging

Grout continuity and the location of the bentonite seal and sand pack in PVC-cased monitoring wells can be evaluated with cased-hole geophysical density logs. This method relies upon density contrasts among various completion conditions and annular materials. Notably, the lack of annular material behind pipe (i.e., void space) creates a low-density zone that is readily detected by borehole density measurements.
Acoustic cement bond logging has typically been applied to the evaluation of cement in the annular space of completed oil and gas production wells, and in some cases to ground water monitoring wells. These logs, however, can only be obtained in the fluid-filled portion of the borehole, and their interpretation is severely hindered by the presence of the micro-annulus between casing and cement. The influence of the micro-annulus on cement bond logs can be mitigated in steel-cased wells by pressurizing the wellbore during acquisition of the log, but this procedure is not feasible in PVC-cased monitoring wells. The micro-annulus does not affect cased-hole density logs or their interpretation.
Empirical measurements made in the laboratory with density probes provide information on their depths of investigation and response to specific completion conditions. These empirical data, and general knowledge of the density of annular completion materials (sand, bentonite, cement), are used to support interpretations of cased-hole density logs acquired in the field. Three field examples demonstrate the applicability of geophysical density logs to the evaluation of PVC-cased monitoring well completions.     

Vertical Delineation of Contamination in Fractured Bedrock Aquifer

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's Technical Regulations require the horizontal and vertical delineation of contamination. Monitor wells screened at increasingly deeper intervals are used to delineate vertical contamination. In New Jersey, the open interval in a bedrock well cannot exceed 7.6 m. Since contamination has been found at depths as great as 91.4 m in a production well in the study area, it would be prohibitively expensive to install monitor wells with 7.6 m open holes at ever-increasing depths until no contamination was found. Isolation of discrete zones in boreholes using pneumatic packers was implemented at a site in north central New Jersey. Ground water samples were collected from selected 6.1 m sections of boreholes drilled into fractured bedrock at three locations on the property and one offsite location. The ground water samples were analyzed in a field laboratory. The analytical results were used to determine the vertical extent of gasoline-related compounds dissolved in the ground water on the property and offsite. These compounds include benzene, ethylbenzene, methyl tertiary butyl ether, toluene, and xylenes. The four boreholes were converted into bedrock monitor wells. The intake interval for each of the wells was selected through evaluation of the vertical distribution of contaminants as determined from analytical results obtained from a field laboratory located onsite. Three wells are used for the recovery of contaminated ground water. The recovered water will be treated at the onsite air-stripping unit. The fourth well is used to chemically and hydraulically monitor the progress of the ground water recovery program.     

A Method to Evaluate the Vertical Distribution of VOCs in Ground Water in a Single Borehole

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are present in multiple water-bearing zones beneath and downgradient of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. This area is composed of interfingering unconsolidated alluvial sediments with hydraulic conductivities ranging over four orders of magnitude. The more permeable sediments exhibit moderate hydraulic interconnection horizontally and less interconnection vertically, and appear to consist largely of interconnected stream channel deposits. To optimize selection of monitoring well screened intervals in this complex environment, a technique that enables collection of saturated formation samples from each water-bearing zone without contamination from other VOC-containing zones was developed, tested, and implemented. The technique utilizes a wireline punch-coring system that allows the drill bit to be replaced with a core barrel without removing the drill rod from the borehole. To help ensure that a sample from one water-bearing zone is not contaminated by VOCs from another zone, the drilling fluid is replaced with new fluid before each sampling run. Overnight chemical analysis by gas chromatography enables field personnel to know the vertical distribution of VOCs as drilling proceeds. Since its first use in 1985, the technique has successfully characterized the presence or absence of VOCs in ground water in 123 of 140 wells, many with concentrations in ground water in the low parts-per-billion range. Our sampling technique is a cost-effective and rapid method of evaluating the vertical distribution of VOCs in ground water in a complex hydrogeologic environment.     

Decision Analysis for Leachate Control at a Fractured Rock Landfill

The municipal landfill at the Complexe Environnemental de Saint-Michel (CESM) in Montreal, which is the third largest in North America, is located in a former quarry in fractured limestone. Impressive measures are taken to monitor and control biogas and leachate generated at the site. Leachate containment is presently performed with a pumping well completed within the waste. The efficiency of the well in controlling off-site leachate migration is questioned because field observations strongly suggest that the nearby former Francon quarry is diverting local ground water flow. To address this issue, four additional hydraulic control options are considered: (1) increased pumping at the existing waste well; (2) new pumping wells in the rock on the eastern limit of the site; (3) new injection wells in the rock on the eastern limit; and (4) combination of new injection wells at the same location and new water supply wells upgradient of the landfill. We evaluated the four hydraulic control options at the CESM using two coupled models: (1) a decision model based on an objective function weighting the risk, costs, and benefits of each option translated into dollar units; and (2) a numerical ground water flow model to represent the effect of operational conditions and ascertain success. Decision analysis offers a quantitative unbiased tool to evaluate the potential and relative cost of each option, but qualitative considerations and judgment still must be used for a complete evaluation. Our analysis confirms that scenario 4, which was the intuitively favored option, represents the best containment strategy.     

Identifying the potential loss of monitoring wells using an uncertainty analysis

From the mid-1940s through the 1980s, large volumes of waste water were discharged at the Hanford Site in southeastern Washington State, causing a large-scale rise (>20 m) in the water table. When waste water discharges ceased in 1988, ground water mounds began to dissipate. This caused a large number of wells to go dry and has made it difficult to monitor contaminant plume migration. To identify monitoring wells that will need replacement, a methodology has been developed using a first-order uncertainty analysis with UCODE, a nonlinear parameter estimation code. Using a three-dimensional, finite-element ground water flow code, key parameters were identified by calibrating to historical hydraulic head data. Results from the calibration period were then used to check model predictions by comparing monitoring wells' wet/dry status with field data. This status was analyzed using a methodology that incorporated the 0.3 cumulative probability derived from the confidence and prediction intervals. For comparison, a nonphysically based trend model was also used as a predictor of wells' wet/dry status. Although the numerical model outperformed the trend model, for both models, the central value of the intervals was a better predictor of a wet well status. The prediction interval, however, was more successful at identifying dry wells. Predictions made through the year 2048 indicated that 46% of the wells in the monitoring well network are likely to go dry in areas near the river and where the ground water mound is dissipating.     

Miniaturization of the flowing fluid electric conductivity logging technique

An understanding of the hydraulic properties of the aquifer and the depth distribution of salts is critical for evaluating the potential of ground water for conjunctive water use and for maintaining suitable ground water quality in agricultural regions where ground water is used extensively for irrigation and drinking water. The electrical conductivity profiles recorded in a well using the flowing fluid electric conductivity (FEC) logging method can be analyzed to estimate interval-specific hydraulic conductivity and estimates of the salinity concentration with depth. However, operating irrigation wells commonly allow limited access, and the traditional equipment used for FEC logging cannot fit through the small access pipe intersecting the well. A modified, miniaturized FEC logging technique was developed for use in wells with limited access. In addition, a new method for injecting water over the entire screened interval of the well reduces the time required to perform FEC logging.     

Long-Term Confidence in Ground Water Monitoring Systems

State-of-the-art analytical techniques are capable of detecting contamination In the part per billion (ppb) range or lower. At these levels, a truly representative ground water sample Is essential to precisely evaluate ground water quality. The design specifications of a ground water monitoring system are critical in ensuring the collection of representative samples, particularly throughout the long-term monitoring period.
The potential interfaces from commonly used synthetic well casings require a thorough assessment of site, hydrogeology and the geochemical properties of ground water. Once designed, the monitoring system must be installed following guidelines that ensure adequate seals to prevent contaminant migration during the installation process or at some time in the future. Additionally, maintaining the system so the wells are in hydraulic connection with the monitored zone as well as periodically Inspecting the physical integrity of the system can prolong the usefulness of the wells for ground water quality. When ground water quality data become suspect due to potential interferences from existing monitoring wells, an appropriate abandonment technique must be employed to adequately remove or destroy the well while completely sealing the borehole.
The results of an inspection of a monitoring system comprised of six 4-inch diameter PVC monitoring wells at a hazardous well facility Indicated that the wells were improperly installed and in some cases provided a pathway for contamination. Subsequent down hole television inspections confirmed inaccuracies between construction logs and the existing system as well as identified defects in casing materials. An abandonment program was designed which destroyed the well casings in place while simultaneously providing a competent seal of the re-drilled borehole.     

Low-Cost Apparatus for On-Site Monitoring of Methane in Ground Water

An upsurge in oil- and gas-well drilling in northwestern Pennsylvania and western New York has been accompanied by several incidents of contamination of ground water by methane. Determining which well is causing the contamination is extremely difficult if more than one gas or oil well is present in the area.
The fact that the solubility of methane decreases as the pressure on ground water decreases provides a quantitative basis for monitoring changes in the amount of methane in the ground water. Quantitative measurements of the volume of methane given off by ground water pumped from a well as the water enters atmospheric pressure permit detection of temporal changes in the gas content which are too subtle to be detected visually. These gas volume changes may, in some cases, be correlated with variations in the pressure of methane in the annulus of nearby individual gas/oil wells and thus may provide a means of pinpointing the gas/oil well that is causing the methane contamination.
The basic principle of the gas-volume monitoring apparatus (GVMA) described in this paper is that as a measured amount of ground water enters atmospheric pressure the gas which comes out of solution is trapped and measured. The GVMA can be constructed of materials costing less than $100 and requires no special skills to assemble or operate. In a recent study conducted in a western New York village, four homeowners were able to collect quantitative gas-volume data from their household water wells daily in about one-half hour. Unlike laboratory analyses for dissolved methane, there is no cost involved in monitoring with the GVMA beyond the initial instrument cost and operator time. Another advantage is that the data are available immediately.     

Statistical approach to determine the salinized ground water flow path and hydrogeochemical features around the underground LPG cavern,Korea

The ground water flow path of the coastal area in the Yellow Sea, Korea, was interpreted using both the cross‐correlation analysis of hydraulic properties and the principal component analysis (PCA) of ground water chemistry. Data was obtained from observation wells in the underground liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cavern constructed in the coastal area of Pyeongtaek. Cross‐correlation results showed that the operating pressure became more influenced on artificial factors for the variation of the groundwater level of the study area (45–66% of correlation coefficient) even though its affecting area was limited to the region with fractures or faults, and also showed that the delay time from the variation of operating pressure to the fluctuation of ground water level were relatively long periods (28–31 days). Three hydrogeochemical events (encrusted cement dissolution, host rock dissolution, and seawater intrusion), which were dominantly influenced on ground water quality, could be induced from the result of PCA. Quantitative evaluation for these events using the mixed equation with principal component scores suggest that the dissolution of encrusted cement materials was the predominant factor (39·0% of the total mixed proportion) to change the chemical composition of the seepage water during the ground water flow from the observation wells to the cavern. Integration of the statistical results also imply that ground water flow and hydrogeochemistry were predominantly affected by artificial factors such as cavern operation pressure and dissolution of encrusted cement materials, which were interdependent factors on the observation wells with high cross‐correlation coefficients and pH. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analysis of the Groundwater Monitoring Controversy at the Pavillion,Wyoming Natural Gas Field

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was contacted by citizens of Pavillion, Wyoming 6 years ago regarding taste and odor in their water wells in an area where hydraulic fracturing operations were occurring. EPA conducted a field investigation, including drilling two deep monitor wells, and concluded in a draft report that constituents associated with hydraulic fracturing had impacted the drinking water aquifer. Following extensive media coverage, pressure from state and other federal agencies, and extensive technical criticism from industry, EPA stated the draft report would not undergo peer review, that it would not rely on the conclusions, and that it had relinquished its lead role in the investigation to the State of Wyoming for further investigation without resolving the source of the taste and odor problem. Review of the events leading up to EPA's decision suggests that much of the criticism could have been avoided through improved preproject planning with clear objectives. Such planning would have identified the high national significance and potential implications of the proposed work. Expanded stakeholder involvement and technical input could have eliminated some of the difficulties that plagued the investigation. However, collecting baseline groundwater quality data prior to initiating hydraulic fracturing likely would have been an effective way to evaluate potential impacts. The Pavillion groundwater investigation provides an excellent opportunity for improving field methods, report transparency, clarity of communication, and the peer review process in future investigations of the impacts of hydraulic fracturing on groundwater.     

Installation of Observation Wells on Hazardous Waste Sites in Kansas Using a Hollow-Stem Auger

Noncontaminating procedures were used during the hollow-stem auger installation of 12 observation wells on three hazardous waste sites in Kansas. Special precautions were taken to ensure that water samples were representative of the ground water in the aquifer and were not subjected to contamination from the land surface or cross contamination from within borehole. Precautions included thorough cleaning of the hollow-stem auger and casing, keeping drill cuttings from falling back into the borehole while drilling, and not adding water to the borehole. These procedures were designed to prevent contamination of the ground water during well installation.
Because the use of water during well installation could contaminate the aquifer or dilute contaminants already present in the aquifer, two methods of well installation that did not introduce outside water to the borehole were used. The first method involved using a slotted 3/4-inch coupling that was attached to the bit plate of the hollow-stem auger, allowing formation water to enter the auger, thereby preventing sand-plug formation. This method proved to be adequate, except when drilling through clay layers, which tended to clog the slotted coupling. The second method involved screened well swab that allowed only formation water to enter the hollow-stem auger and prevented sand from plugging the hollow-stem auger when the bit plate was removed.     

Temporal Changes in VOC Discharge to Surface Water from a Fractured Rock Aquifer During Well Installation and Operation, Greenville, South Carolina

Analysis of the vapor in passive vapor samplers retrieved from a streambed in fractured rock terrain implied that volatile organic carbon (VOC) discharge from ground water to surface water substantially increased following installation of a contaminant recovery well using air rotary drilling. The air rotary technique forced air into the aquifer near the stream. The injection produced an upward hydraulic gradient that appears to have transported water and contaminants from deeper parts of the aquifer through fractures into shallow parts of the aquifer. Once in the shallow flow regime, the contamination was transported to the stream, where it discharged during the next several weeks following well installation. After the recovery well was activated and began continuously pumping contaminated ground water to a treatment facility, the VOC concentrations in the stream bottom passive vapor samplers decreased to below detectable concentrations, suggesting that the withdrawal had captured the contaminated ground water that previously had discharged to the stream.