Combined use of flowmeter and time-drawdown data to estimate hydraulic conductivities in layered aquifer systems

Ground Water
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Abstract

The vertical distribution of hydraulic conductivity in layered aquifer systems commonly is needed for model simulations of ground-water flow and transport. In previous studies, time-drawdown data or flowmeter data were used individually, but not in combination, to estimate hydraulic conductivity. In this study, flowmeter data and time-drawdown data collected from a long-screened production well and nearby monitoring wells are combined to estimate the vertical distribution of hydraulic conductivity in a complex multilayer coastal aquifer system. Flowmeter measurements recorded as a function of depth delineate nonuniform inflow to the wellbore, and this information is used to better discretize the vertical distribution of hydraulic conductivity using analytical and numerical methods. The time-drawdown data complement the flowmeter data by giving insight into the hydraulic response of aquitards when flow rates within the wellbore are below the detection limit of the flowmeter. The combination of these field data allows for the testing of alternative conceptual models of radial flow to the wellbore.
Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Combined use of flowmeter and time-drawdown data to estimate hydraulic conductivities in layered aquifer systems
Series title Ground Water
DOI 10.1111/j.1745-6584.1996.tb01868.x
Volume 34
Issue 1
Year Published 1996
Language English
Publisher Wiley
Contributing office(s) California Water Science Center
Description 11 p.
First page 84
Last page 94
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