Combining pump-and-treat and physical barriers for contaminant plume control.
A detailed analysis is presented of the hydraulic efficiency of plume management alternatives that combine a conventional pump-and-treat system with vertical, physical hydraulic barriers such as slurry walls or sheet piles. Various design settings are examined for their potential to reduce the pumping rate needed to obtain a complete capture of a given contaminated area. Using established modeling techniques for flow and transport, those barrier configurations (specified by location, shape, and length) that yield a maximum reduction of the pumping rate are identified assuming homogeneous aquifer conditions. Selected configurations are further analyzed concerning their hydraulic performance under heterogeneous aquifer conditions by means of a stochastic approach (Monte Carlo simulations) with aquifer transmissivity as a random space function. The results show that physical barriers are an appropriate means to decrease expected (mean) pumping rates, as well as the variance of the corresponding pumping rate distribution at any given degree of heterogeneity. The methodology presented can be transferred easily to other aquifer scenarios, provided some basic premises are fulfilled, and may serve as a basis for reducing the pumping rate in existing pump-and-treat systems.
Bayer
Peter
P
Center for Applied Geoscience, University of Tuebingen, Sigwartstrasse 10, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany. peter.bayer@uni-tuebingen.de
Finkel
Michael
M
Teutsch
Georg
G
D055593:Geological Phenomena; D005844:Geology; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009010:Monte Carlo Method; D011312:Pressure; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014872:Water Movements; D014873:Water Pollutants / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014876:Water Pollution / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014881:Water Supply
D012989:Soil Pollutants; D014873:Water Pollutants