Single-well tracer methods for hydrogeologic evaluation of target aquifers

Technical Report · Mon Oct 31 23:00:00 EST 1994

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/28235· OSTI ID:28235

Hall, S H

Designing an efficient well field for an aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) project requires measuring local groundwater flow parameters as well as estimating horizontal and vertical inhomogeneity. Effective porosity determines the volume of aquifer needed to store a given volume of heated or chilled water. Ground-water flow velocity governs the migration of the thermal plume, and dispersion and heat exchange along the flow path reduces the thermal intensity of the recovered plume. Stratigraphic variations in the aquifer will affect plume dispersion, may bias the apparent rate of migration of the plume, and can prevent efficient hydraulic communication between wells. Single-well tracer methods using a conservative flow tracer such as bromide, along with pumping tests and water-level measurements, provide a rapid and cost-effective means for estimating flow parameters. A drift-and-pumpback tracer test yields effective porosity and flow velocity. Point-dilution tracer testing, using new instrumentation for downhole tracer measurement and a new method for calibrating the point-dilution test itself, yields depth-discrete hydraulic conductivity as it is affected by stratigraphy, and can be used to estimate well transmissivity. Experience in conducting both drift-and-pumpback and point-dilution tests at three different test sites has yielded important information that highlights both the power and the limitations of the single-well tracer methods. These sites are the University of Alabama Student Recreation Center (UASRC) ATES well field and the VA Medical Center (VA) ATES well field, both located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and the Hanford bioremediation test site north of Richland, Washington.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC06-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 28235
• Report Number(s): PNL-SA--24847; CONF-9411190--2; ON: DE95007753
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

05 NUCLEAR FUELS
25 ENERGY STORAGE
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ALABAMA
AQUIFERS
BOREHOLE LINKING
EXPERIMENTAL DATA
GROUND WATER
HANFORD RESERVATION
HYDROLOGY
LAND USE
LIQUID FLOW
MEASURING METHODS
REMEDIAL ACTION
RESERVOIR ENGINEERING
SEASONAL THERMAL ENERGY STORAGE
STRATIGRAPHY
TRACER TECHNIQUES
WATER TABLES
WELL SPACING