Issues and Options in the Delineation of Well Capture Zones under Uncertainty.

The delineation of wellhead protection areas (WHPAs) under uncertainty is still a challenge for heterogeneous porous media. For granular media, one option is to combine particle tracking (PT) with the Monte Carlo approach (PT-MC) to account for geologic uncertainties. Fractured porous media, however, require certain restrictive assumptions under this approach.

Delineating baseflow contribution areas for streams - A model and methods comparison.

This study addresses the delineation of areas that contribute baseflow to a stream reach, also known as stream capture zones. Such areas can be delineated using standard well capture zone delineation methods, with three important differences: (1) natural gradients are smaller compared to those produced by supply wells and are therefore subject to greater numerical errors, (2) stream discharge varies seasonally, and (3) stream discharge varies spatially. This study focuses on model-related uncertainties due to model characteristics, discretization schemes, delineation methods, and particle tracking algorithms.

An integrated approach for addressing uncertainty in the delineation of groundwater management areas.

Uncertainty is a pervasive but often poorly understood factor in the delineation of wellhead protection areas (WHPAs), which can discourage water managers and practitioners from relying on model results. To make uncertainty more understandable and thereby remove a barrier to the acceptance of models in the WHPA context, we present a simple approach for dealing with uncertainty. The approach considers two spatial scales for representing uncertainty: local and global.

A simple method to assess unsaturated zone time lag in the travel time from ground surface to receptor.

In contaminant travel from ground surface to groundwater receptors, the time taken in travelling through the unsaturated zone is known as the unsaturated zone time lag. Depending on the situation, this time lag may or may not be significant within the context of the overall problem. A method is presented for assessing the importance of the unsaturated zone in the travel time from source to receptor in terms of estimates of both the absolute and the relative advective times.