Travel time to a well pumping an unconfined aquifer without recharge

A solution is given for the travel time to a well pumping an ideal, horizontal unconfined aquifer, under steady-state conditions, when recharge from infiltration is negligible. Three forms of the solution are provided: a closed-form solution, an integral to be calculated in a worksheet, and a simple equation. The three forms of the solution give travel times nearly identical to those obtained using a finite-element code for saturated and unsaturated flow and particle tracking.     

A new method to characterize hydraulic short-circuits in defective borehole seals

A new approach has been developed to detect, characterize, and quantify hydraulic short-circuits in boreholes with faulty seals. The methodology, applicable to an aquifer-aquitard-aquifer system, involves a series of successive, constant-rate pumping tests in the lower aquifer while determining the leakage rate with a simultaneous nonreactive tracer test. During each pumping step, the tracer is injected under constant concentration and constant hydraulic head from a piezometer in the upper aquifer. If a seal defect exists, the tracer will follow the leak and will be recovered from the pumped water. The theoretical equations relate the leakage rate, the pumping rate, the concentration of the injected tracer, and the recovered concentration. Leakage rates can be determined for any pumping rate. The theory is tested using numerical analysis and a full-scale field test.     

Predicting Vertical LNAPL Distribution in the Subsurface under the Fluctuating Water Table Effect

The present study proposes a methodology for predicting the vertical light nonaqueous-phase liquids (LNAPLs) distribution within an aquifer by considering the influence of water table fluctuations. The LNAPL distribution is predicted by combining (1) information on air/LNAPL and LNAPL/water interface elevations with (2) the initial elevation of the water table without LNAPL effect. Data used in the present study were collected during groundwater monitoring undertaken over a period of 4 months at a LNAPL-impacted observation well. In this study, the water table fluctuations raised the free LNAPL in the subsurface to an elevation of 206.63 m, while the lowest elevation was 205.70 m, forming a thickness of 0.93 m of LNAPL-impacted soil. Results show that the apparent LNAPL thickness in the observation well is found to be three times greater than the actual free LNAPL thickness in soil; a finding that agrees with previous studies reporting that apparent LNAPL thickness in observation wells typically exceeds the free LNAPL thickness within soil by a factor estimated to range between 2 and 10. The present study provides insights concerning the transient variation of LNAPL distribution within the subsurface and highlights the capability of the proposed methodology to mathematically predict the actual LNAPL thickness in the subsurface, without the need to conduct laborious field tests. Practitioners can use the proposed methodology to determine by how much the water table should be lowered, through pumping, to isolate the LNAPL-impacted soil within the unsaturated zone, which can then be subjected to in situ vadose zone remedial treatment.     

Groundwater travel times for unconfined island aquifers bounded by freshwater or seawater

Analytical solutions for calculating groundwater travel times within unconfined island aquifers are given for cases of both a freshwater-bounded island (island located in a fresh water lake) and an oceanic island (freshwater contained above intrusive saltwater). The solutions apply for homogenous aquifers recharged by surface infiltration and discharged by a down-gradient, fixed-head boundary, under steady-state conditions. The solutions are given for two simple island geometries: circular islands and strip islands. A technique is also provided for comparing travel times in inland islands and oceanic islands. Travel times in oceanic islands are found to be shorter than travel times in inland islands, and travel times in circular islands are found to be longer than travel times in strip islands.     

Regional fracture network permeability using outcrop scale measurements

Estimating the hydraulic properties of fractured aquifers is challenging due to the complexity of structural discontinuities that can generally be measured at a small scale, either in core or in outcrop, but influence groundwater flow over a range of scales. This modeling study uses fracture scanline data obtained from surface bedrock exposures to derive estimates of permeability that can be used to represent the fractured rock matrix within regional scale flow models. The model is developed using PETREL, which traditionally benefits from high resolution data sets obtained during oil and gas exploration, including for example seismic data, and borehole logging data (both lithological and geophysical). The technique consists of interpreting scanline fracture data, and using these data to generate representative Discrete Fracture Network (DFN) models for each field set. The DFN models are then upscaled to provide an effective hydraulic conductivity tensor that represents the fractured rock matrix. For each field site, the upscaled hydraulic conductivities are compared with estimates derived from pumping tests to validate the model. A hydraulic conductivity field is generated for the study region that captures the spatial variability of fracture networks in pseudo-three dimensions from scanline data. Hydraulic conductivities estimated using this approach compare well with those estimated from pumping test data. The study results suggest that such an approach may be feasible for taking small scale fracture data and upscaling these to represent the aquifer matrix hydraulic properties needed for regional groundwater modeling.     

Constraining a Flow Model with Field Measurements to Assess Water Transit Time Through a Vadose Zone

The modeling of thick vadose zones is particularly challenging because of difficulties in collecting a variety of measured sediment properties, which are required for parameterizing the model. Some models rely on synthetic data, whereas others are simplified by running as homogeneous sediment domains and relying on a single set of sediment properties. Few studies have simulated flow processes through a thick vadose zone using real and comprehensive data sets comprising multiple measurements. Here, we develop a flow model for a 7-m-thick vadose zone. This model, combining the numerical codes CTRAN/W with SEEP/W, includes the measured sediment hydraulic properties of the investigated vadose zone and incorporates the actual climate and subsurface conditions of the study site (precipitations, water-table elevations, and stable isotope data). The model is calibrated by fitting the simulated and measured vertical profiles of water content. Our flow model calculates a transit time of 1 year for the travel of water through the 7-m vadose zone; this estimate matches stable isotope-based results obtained previously for this site. A homogeneous sediment domain flow model, which considers only a single set of sediment properties, produces a transit time that is approximately half the duration of that of the heterogeneous flow model. This difference highlights the importance of assuming heterogeneous material within models of thick vadose zones and testifies to the advantage gained when using real sediment hydraulic properties to parametrize a flow model.     

Field evidence of hydraulic connections between bedrock aquifers and overlying granular aquifers: examples from the Grenville Province of the Canadian Shield

Field evidence of hydraulic connections between a bedrock aquifer and an overlying granular aquifer in the Canadian Shield (Grenville Province) is presented. This issue is rarely considered and investigated despite its important hydraulic and chemical consequences and its widespread occurrence worldwide. The methodology employed is based on complementary field tests conducted at specific experimental sites instrumented both in the rock and in the overlying deposits. One of the bedrock sites revealed a natural hydraulic connection with the overlying granular aquifer caused by the weathered surface of the uppermost bedrock. Another site revealed an artificial hydraulic connection between the bedrock and the granular aquifer created by an improperly sealed casing. A regional study showed that hydraulic connections yield an erroneous interpretation of the true hydraulic properties of the tested aquifer. The detection of hydraulic connections is therefore essential to properly define well-capture areas and contamination conditions. It is recommended to practitioners that pumping tests be performed as well as hydrochemical comparisons of each existing aquifer unit. Falling-head permeability tests are also helpful in verifying the quality of the seal at the bedrock–casing contact. More effective procedural controls and better well-construction practices are necessary to reduce the risks of cross-contamination induced by defective seals.     

Detecting a Defective Casing Seal at the Top of a Bedrock Aquifer

An improperly sealed casing can produce a direct hydraulic connection between two or more originally isolated aquifers with important consequences regarding groundwater quantity and quality. A recent study by Richard et al. (2014) investigated a monitoring well installed in a fractured rock aquifer with a defective casing seal at the soil–bedrock interface. A hydraulic short circuit was detected that produced some leakage between the rock and the overlying deposits. A falling‐head permeability test performed in this well showed that the usual method of data interpretation is not valid in this particular case due to the presence of a piezometric error. This error is the direct result of the preferential flow originating from the hydraulic short circuit and the subsequent re‐equilibration of the piezometric levels of both aquifers in the vicinity of the inlet and the outlet of the defective seal. Numerical simulations of groundwater circulation around the well support the observed impact of the hydraulic short circuit on the results of the falling‐head permeability test. These observations demonstrate that a properly designed falling‐head permeability test may be useful in the detection of defective casing seals.