MODALL: a practical tool for designing and optimizing capture systems

The primary goals for most ground water capture systems (i.e., pump-and-treat systems) are that (1) all contaminants within zones of interest will eventually be captured and (2) the extraction and reinjection wells are best located and operated at optimal flow rates, creating hydraulically efficient flow systems. A new tool, MODular ALLocation (MODALL), is presented to aid in the design and assessment of capture systems. MODALL uses the MODFLOW-calculated cell-by-cell flow terms to evaluate internodal flow balances to determine the percentage of flow in each cell which has either originated from a given source(s) or flows to a specified sink(s). Output from MODALL can be easily displayed in isopleths of "capture fraction" (CF) to indicate the certainty or strength of capture in various areas. MODALL results are compared to the results from an analytical solution, a pathline analysis using MODPATH, and solute transport simulation with MT3DMS. A brief case study is also presented where MODALL is used to optimize an existing pump-and-treat system to more effectively and more efficiently contain a 5000-m long plume.