Estimation of water velocities in boreholes using a new passive flowmeter

Abstract

Preferential flow pathways in a fractured aquifer may yield abrupt reductions of the water velocity in a well. We propose a new device for measuring low (5–13 cm d^-1) velocities in wells originating from fractures at different depths. The presented flowmeter has been applied in a well in the Bari (southern Italy) fractured aquifer. In the same well, the horizontal flowmeter velocity (9.6 cm d^-1) at 0.5 m depth was compared with velocity (8 cm d^-1) derived from a field tracer test, providing a value 16.5% higher. Moreover, the flowmeter measurements at 1.5 m depth gave a horizontal velocity of 7.2 cm d^-1, which is 11% less than water flow velocity estimated from the field test. The new flowmeter implements the tracer point-dilution method in a plastic (PVC) pipe by causing the water flow to pass through an artificial filter. Laboratory calibration tests have confirmed the good performance of the proposed flowmeter technique, even for water flow up to 300 cm d^-1. The flowmeter was sensitive to 0.1 cm d^-1, with a detection limit of 1.5 cm d^-1, i.e. half the measurable flow velocity of existing flowmeters in wells.

Editor D. Koutsoyiannis; Associate editor S. Grimaldi