Method/Model Comparison for Wellhead Protection Area Delineation for a New Jersey Site

Author(s):  
SR Green ◽  
R Dorrler
1991 ◽  
Vol 24 (11) ◽  
pp. 51-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Guiguer ◽  
T. Franz

In the last few years, groundwater management has concentrated on the protection of groundwater quality. An increasing number of countries has adopted policies to protect vital groundwater resources from deterioration by regulating human interaction with the subsurface, the use of potential contaminants, land use restrictions, and waste transport and storage. One of the more common regulatory approaches to the protection of groundwater focuses on public water supplies to reduce the potential of human exposure to hazardous contaminants. Under the framework of the Safe Drinking Water Act amended by U.S. Congress in 1986, The U.S.EPA (1987) issued guidelines for the delineation of wellhead protection areas, recommending the use of analytical and numerical models for the identification of such areas. In this study, the theoretical background for the development of one such numerical model is presented. Two real-world applications are discussed: in the first case history, the model is applied to a Superfund Site in Puerto Rico as a tool for assessment of the effectiveness of a proposed pump-and-treat scheme for aquifer remediation. Based on simulation results for the evolution of the existing contaminant plume it was verified that such a scheme would not work with the proposed purging wells. The second case history is the delineation of a wellhead protection area in the Town of Littleton, Massachusetts, and subsequent design of a monitoring well network.


1991 ◽  
Vol 24 (11) ◽  
pp. 239-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tereza C. B. F. Cleary ◽  
Robert W. Cleary

A preventive approach in groundwater protection programs throughout Europe and the United States, and almost unknown in Brazil, is to define the surface and subsurface areas, the Wellhead Protection Area (WHPA), from which a well or wellfield draws its water during a specified time. Overlaying a map of potential pollution sources on the delineated WHPA (Figure 1), those sources which fall within the WHPA boundaries are identified as definite threats, that need to be closely monitored, to the continued safe operation of the wellfield. Given the importance of effectively delineating the WHPA to protect public water supplies, the current delineation criteria, methods, and zones are presented, as well as analytical and numerical PC model analyses of different hydrogeological scenarios' effects on WHPA's size, shape and direction. Numerical models are shown to more accurately define WHPAs by taking into account the surrounding heterogeneous and anisotropic geology.


1999 ◽  
Vol 1999 (1) ◽  
pp. 825-827
Author(s):  
Joanne N. Halls ◽  
Miles O. Hayes ◽  
Jacqueline Michel ◽  
Christina Sames

ABSTRACT The Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA) of the Department of Transportation is required to identify areas that are unusually sensitive to environmental damage in the event of a hazardous liquid pipeline accident, in accordance with pipeline safety laws (49 U.S.C. Section 60109). Accordingly, workshops were held with regulatory agencies, pipeline operators, and the public during which a process was developed to identify “unusually sensitive areas” (USAs) for drinking water resources. This process, which has been adopted by RSPA, consists of first identifying environmentally sensitive drinking water resources and other primary concerns, and then applying the following five filtering criteria to determine which of the drinking water source locations should be USAs:, Filter Criterion #1. If the public water system is a Transient Noncommunity Water System (TNCWS), the water intakes shall not be designated as USAs. Filter Criterion #2. For Community Water Systems (CWS) and Nontransient Noncommunity Water Systems (NTNCWS) that obtain their water supply primarily from surface water sources, and do not have an adequate alternative source of water, the water intakes shall be designated as USAs. Filter Criterion #3. For CWS and NTNCWS that obtain their water primarily from ground water sources, where the source aquifer is identified as a Class I or Class IIa, as defined in Pettyjohn et al. (1991), and do not have an adequate alternative source of water, these wells shall be designated as USAs. The wellhead protection area for each well will be used to define the area of the USA. Filter Criterion #4. For CWS and NTNCWS that obtain their water primarily from ground water sources, where the source aquifer is identified as a Class IIb, IIc, III, or U, as defined in Pettyjohn et al. (1991), these wells shall not be designated as USAs. Filter Criterion #5. For CWS and NTNCWS that obtain their water primarily from ground water sources, where the source aquifer is identified as a Class I or Class IIa, as defined in Pettyjohn et al. (1991), and the aquifer is designated as a sole source aquifer, these wells are also USAs, an area twice the wellhead protection area shall be designated as a USA.


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