Groundwater Characterization, Management and Monitoring

This book provides a systematic framework for groundwater development. It is conceived to be not only a textbook for students of groundwater and water resources management, but also to be a reference for engineers, hydrogeologists and water resources and water managers in general. It is presented, using the current thinking in groundwater management, including the theoretical and technical backgrounds that will help to find efficient decisions. Intending that aquifers have to be classed as vulnerable water sources and only carefully designed interventions will allow the appropriate use and protection of its resources, the book presents decision model building and resolution, and particular aspects of the use of decision models for groundwater management and their application to solve real world groundwater management problems. As decision can only be taken if based on information, the book presents the review of groundwater monitoring network design methods with a problem-oriented approach. The analysis starts by stating the general problems that need solution, followed by a presentation of the methods available to solve them.Problem types include monitoring for general groundwater quantity/quality status (compliance) and trend analysis, early detection of contamination related to specific sources, and evaluation of remediation procedures - cleanup status. As many of the methods used in decision models and monitoring methods require a thorough understanding on groundwater flow and on the transport and fate of solutes in groundwater, the main equation are first introduced. This book, using a comprehensive approach, aims at contributing for a better engineering and management practices in the groundwater field.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Groundwater flow and mass transport Introduction - Water in the subsoil; Derivation of the groundwater flow equation; Boundary conditions; Analytical solutions; Confined aquifer - steady state; Unconfined aquifer - steady state; Flow to wells; Saltwater-freshwater interface; Advection-dispersion equation for dissolved conservative solutes; Theoretical limiting values for tortuosity; Advection-dispersion equation for dissolved nonconservative solutes; Sorption; Sorption of cations; Calculation of a theoretical value for the distribution coefficient for cations; Sorption of organic molecules; Calculation of some retardation factors; Effect of retardation - permanent emission; Effect of retardation - slug injection; Radioactive decay; Biodegradation; First-order removal by biodegradation model; Monod model; Analytical solutions for solute dispersion; One-dimensional infinite dispersion; One-dimensional semi-infinite dispersion; Constant concentration; Variable flux; One-dimensional finite dispersion; One-dimensional slug injection; Two-dimensional dispersion; Two-dimensional slug injection; Three-dimensional slug injection; Slug injection into a two-dimensional flow field - example; Permanent injection into a two-dimensional flow field - example; Slug injection into a three-dimensional flow field - example Groundwater simulation-optimization models Introduction - Motivation; Basic concepts; Conventional versus optimization procedures; Decision model features: decision variables, constraints, objective function; Decision model characterization for groundwater systems; Single-objective versus multiple-objective decision problems; Single user versus multiple users; Inclusion of risk/uncertainty in groundwater analysis and design; Building decision models; Incorporation of groundwater simulation models into decision models; Simplified models; Transition models; Realistic models; The costs and benefits issue; Decision-making contexts; Introduction - Reliability and resilience concepts; Monte Carlo simulation; Solving management models; Classic optimization methods: linear, nonlinear,integer, dynamic programming; Linear programming; Linear integer (or mixed integer) programming; Nonlinear programming; Dynamic programming; Nonlinear integer (or mixed integer) programming methods; New heuristics methods: simulated annealing, genetic algorithms, tabu search; Simulated annealing; Genetic algorithms; Tabu search; Multiobjective decision problem solution methods; Multicriteria decision-making methods; Multiobjective programming; Stochastic optimization methods; Introduction - Chance constraints and deterministic equivalents; Robust optimization methods; Groundwater decision models; Flow maximization; Global drawdown minimization for supplying a given flow; Cost minimization for supplying a given flow; Net benefit maximization from using groundwater for irrigation purposes with seasonally varying demands; Minimization of global drawdown and minimization of weighted transportation distances to supply a set of demand centers; Well locations for minimizing the global drawdown of pumping a given flow; Well location for minimizing the operation costs of pumping a given flow; Minimization of costs of installing and operating the wells needed to satisfy a given demand; Minimization of costs of installing and operating the wells needed to satisfy a given demand in coastal aquifers; Minimization of costs of installing and operating the wells needed to satisfy the demand of a set of centers; Cost minimization for aquifer dewatering; Minimization of costs of installing and operating the wells over N periods needed to satisfy a given demand; Optimal joint use of surface water and groundwater in coastal regions; Identification of the most effective policy for sustainable land use for agriculture purposes; Identification of the most cost-effective policy for in situ bioremediation of contaminated aquifers; Identification of the most cost-effective policy for a pump-and-treat remediation scheme of contaminated aquifers; Identification of the 0most cost-effective policy for containing a groundwater contaminant volume under aquifer parameter uncertainty Groundwater monitoring for environmental risk-related assessment Introduction - Organization of the chapter; Justification of groundwater monitoring methods; Risk assessment basics for groundwater monitoring design; Quantitative risk assessment (QRA) model; NAS model; Example of risk dose-response assessment: benzene in groundwater; Contamination sources: point and area sources; Contamination sources: diffuse sources; Optimizing general state evaluation and trend analysis monitoring networks; Introduction of the problem; Available methodologies; Design-based methods; Model-based methods; Examples of applications and results; Application of Delaunay triangulation spatial analysis to the optimization of a groundwater monitoring network: benzene leaking from an underground tank; Application of a space-filling method to the optimization of an existing monitoring network; Application of variance-reduction method to the optimization of an existing monitoring network; Optimizing early contamination detection monitoring networks; Introduction of the problem; Available methodologies; Risk-based methods; Simulation-based methods; Example applications and results; Design of monitoring networks or detection of a benzene leak from underground tanks: simulation-based solutions (analytical modeling); Design of monitoring networks or detection of a benzene leak from underground tanks: simulation-based solutions (numerical modeling); Design of monitoring networks or detection of a benzene leak from underground tanks: Risk-based solutions; Optimizing contamination detection and cleanup follow-up monitoring networks; Introduction of the problem; Available methodologies; Statistical plume analysis; Spatial moment analysis