Modeling groundwater source catchments in the UK: Implementation and review of a qualitative method for representing uncertainty

Conference · Tue Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1996

OSTI ID:516762

Fermor, M M ^[1]; Morris, B L ^[2]; Fletcher, S W ^[3]

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1. Water Management Consultants Ltd., Shrewsbury (United Kingdom)
2. National Rivers Authority, West Midlands (United Kingdom). Groundwater Centre
3. NRA, West Midlands (United Kingdom). Severn Trent Region

The UK National Rivers Authority Groundwater Protection Policy seeks to restrict certain polluting activities in the catchments and defined time of travel zones (TOTZs) to potable groundwater sources. The size, shape and location of catchments and TOTZs is controlled to a great extent by factors which are poorly defined. A practical qualitative method was developed to represent parameter uncertainty within the context of deterministic modeling (finite difference steady state 2D). Plausible models of the groundwater systems were developed by a standardized procedure so that some of the uncertainties could be represented, and a simple postprocessing technique was developed to provide a geographic representation of zones which are predicted to be definitely within the catchment or TOTZ (Zone of Confidence) or potentially within the catchment or TOTZ (Zone of Uncertainty). A summary of the experience of the first 133 sources zoned is presented.

• OSTI ID: 516762
• Report Number(s): CONF-9606343--; ISBN 0-8031-2021-4
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
DATA COVARIANCES
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
FINITE DIFFERENCE METHOD
FLOW MODELS
GROUND WATER
UNITED KINGDOM
WATER POLLUTION