Migration of induced-infiltration stream water into nearby aquifer due to a transverse horizontal well in loess areas

Analysis of the migration paths of stream water introduced into a transverse horizontal well is important to better understand the interactions between streams and aquifers. This paper presents a method of using particle-tracking techniques to evaluate the transport of stream water that infiltrates through a transverse horizontal well that runs transverse to a stream and extends from the stream banks. By conceptualizing the horizontal well as a discrete pipe network, MODFLOW is coupled with the pipe flow equations that govern the movement of water in the horizontal well, and this coupled seepage-pipe flow model is used to calculate the transient groundwater flow field. MODPATH is then used to record the locations of each of the water particles from the interface between the stream and the aquifer. The path lines, travel times, influence zones and the production of infiltrated stream water are determined to depict the migration process. The results suggest that the infiltrated stream water that originates from different stream transects located upstream and downstream from the horizontal well has different migration characteristics, as does the infiltrated stream water coming from different locations on the same stream transect. Eventually, the pumpage of the horizontal well consists partly of the infiltrated stream water and groundwater inflow from the upstream model boundary. The groundwater enters the horizontal well through the two end segments of the horizontal well, and the infiltrated stream water enters the middle segment of the well. The pumped water is still a mixture of infiltrated stream water and groundwater, even if the pumping lasts for a long period. The hydrochemistry of the infiltrated stream water cannot be simply used to evaluate the hydrochemistry of the water pumped from a transverse horizontal well.