Search

Groundwater is an important source of drinking water in coastal regions with predominantly unconsolidated sediments. To protect and manage drinking water extraction wells in these regions, reliable estimates of groundwater flow velocities around well fields are of paramount importance. Such measurements help to identify the dynamics of the groundwater flow and its response to stresses, to optimize water resources management, and to calibrate groundwater flow models. In this article, we review approaches for measuring the relatively high groundwater flow velocity measurements near these wells. We discuss and review their potential and limitations for use in this environment. Environmental tracer measurements are found to be useful for regional scale estimates of groundwater flow velocities and directions, but their use is limited near drinking water extraction wells. Surface-based hydrogeophysical measurements can potentially provide insight into groundwater flow velocity patterns, although the depth is limited in large-scale measurement setups. Active-heating distributed temperature sensing (AH-DTS) provides direct measurements of in situ groundwater flow velocities and can monitor fluctuations in the high groundwater flow velocities near drinking water extraction wells. Combining geoelectrical measurements with AH-DTS shows the potential to estimate a 3D groundwater flow velocity distribution to fully identify groundwater flow towards drinking water extraction wells.

Active Heating-Distributed Temperature Sensing (AH-DTS) has the potential to allow for the measurement of groundwater flow velocities in situ. We placed DTS fiber-optic cables combined with a heating wire in direct contact with aquifer sediments in a laboratory scale groundwater flow simulator. Using this setup, we empirically determined the relationship between Δ T , the temperature difference by constant and uniform heating of the DTS cable and the background temperature of the groundwater system, and horizontal groundwater flow velocity. Second, we simulated the observed temperature response of the system using a plan-view heat transfer flow model to calibrate for the thermal properties of the sediment and to optimize cable setup for sensitivity to variation in groundwater flow velocities. Additionally, we derived an analytical solution based on the heat flow equation that can be used to explicitly calculate flow velocity from measured Δ T for this specific AH-DTS cable setup. We expect that this equation, after calibration for cable constitution, is valid for estimating groundwater flow velocity based on absolute temperature differences measured in field applications using this cable setup.

An understanding of groundwater flow near drinking water extraction wells is crucial when it comes to avoiding well clogging and pollution. A promising new approach to groundwater flow monitoring is the deployment of a network of optical fibers with fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensors. In preparation for a field experiment, a laboratory scale aquifer was constructed to investigate the feasibility of FBG sensors for this application. Multiparameter FBG sensors were able to detect changes in temperature, pressure, and fiber shape with sensitivities influenced by the packaging. The first results showed that, in a simulated environment with a flow velocity of 2.9 m/d, FBG strain effects were more pronounced than initially expected. FBG sensors of a pressure-induced strain implemented in a spatial array could form a multiplexed sensor for the groundwater flow direction and magnitude. Within the scope of this research, key technical specifications of FBG interrogators for groundwater flow sensing were also identified.