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Three‐dimensional analysis of the capture of contaminated leachate by fully penetrating, partially penetrating, and horizontal wells
Author(s) -
Steward David R.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
water resources research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.863
H-Index - 217
eISSN - 1944-7973
pISSN - 0043-1397
DOI - 10.1029/1998wr900022
Subject(s) - aquifer , leachate , contamination , water well , geology , volumetric flow rate , groundwater , petroleum engineering , range (aeronautics) , geotechnical engineering , environmental science , materials science , mechanics , waste management , engineering , composite material , ecology , physics , biology
The capture of a contaminated leachate by wells is examined for a fully penetrating well, a partially penetrating well, series of partially penetrating wells, and a horizontal well. The capture zones for these wells are illustrated in figures. Charts are used to analyze the minimum pumping rates required to capture a contaminated leachate over a range of aquifer parameters. It is shown that fully penetrating and partially penetrating wells have the same minimum pumping rates when the ratio of the aquifer thickness to the size of the contaminated region is <0.2; when this ratio is >0.5, a partially penetrating well has a much lower pumping rate. A horizontal well that is oriented perpendicularly to flow has the lowest pumping rate; this well can capture a contaminant with a pumping rate of ∼1.5–2 times the contaminated discharge.