Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Analytical and numerical analysis of constant-rate pumping test data considering aquifer boundary effect

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Environmental Earth Sciences Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The constant-rate pumping test (CRT) is commonly used to determine the aquifer properties. In this method, measured drawdown in the pumping well and the monitoring wells are usually matched with type curves developed by various analytical methods. However, numerous assumptions used to develop the analytical solution are not always compatible with the actual site conditions. In this study, drawdown records collected in a pumping well and two monitoring wells located near a river, were analyzed to investigate the boundary effects on the estimated aquifer properties. This site condition violates the assumption that the aquifer is of infinite areal extent. Moreover, time varying water heads during the pumping and recovery tests were simulated numerically to determine the effect of hydraulic gradient, which does not satisfy the assumption of horizontal potentiometric surface used in the analytical solution. Calibrated aquifer properties without the boundary effect showed clear differences, where the transmissivity, anisotropy ratio and specific yield varied by 12%, 34% and 53%, respectively, as compared to the results obtained by including the boundary effect. Numerical simulation conducted by considering a horizontal potentiometric surface as in the analytical model produced an averaged root-mean-squared-error (RMSE) of 0.055 m, which was approximately 57% higher than the RMSE value estimated with the effect of the hydraulic gradient. Therefore, it was concluded that the simplified analytical solutions may lead to misleading estimations of aquifer properties when the pumping test was conducted in an area with complex site conditions.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

Data statement

Due to the sensitive nature of the airport facility, raw data would remain confidential and authors have no permission to be shared.

Code availability

Groundwater Modelling System (GMS) used in this study is commercially available. AQTESOLV is freely accessible from http://www.aqtesolv.com/demo.htm

Abbreviations

b :

Aquifer thickness [L]

d D :

Dimensionless depth to top of pumping well screen (d/b)

J 0 :

Bessel function of first kind, zero order

l D :

Dimensionless depth to bottom of pumping well screen (l/b)r

K r :

Radial hydraulic conductivity [L/T]

K z :

Vertical hydraulic conductivity [L/T]

Q :

Pumping rate [L3/T]

R :

Radial distance [L]

s :

Drawdown [L]

S :

Storativity [–]

S y :

Specific yield [–]

t :

Time [T]

T :

Transmissivity [L2/T]

Z D :

Dimensionless elevation of well screen above base of aquifer (Z/b)

Z 1 D :

Dimensionless elevation of bottom of observation well screen above base of aquifer (Z1/b)

Z 2 D :

Dimensionless elevation of top of observation well screen above base of aquifer (Z2/b)

References

  • Attard G, Winiarski T, Rossier Y, Eisenlohr L (2016) Review: impact of underground structures on the flow of urban groundwater. Hydrogeol J 24:5–19

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barlow PM, Moench AF (1999) WTAQ-A computer program for calculating drawdowns and estimating hydraulic properties for confined and water-table aquifers: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 99–4225

  • Bennett GD, Patten EP (1962) Constant‐head pumping test of a multiaquifer well to determine characteristics of individual aquifers. U.S. Geol. Surv. Water Supply Pap. 1536‐G, pp 181–203.

  • Bevan MJ, Endres AL, Rudolph DL, Parkin G (2005) A field-scale study of pumping-induced drainage and recovery in an unconfined aquifer. J Hydrol 315:52–70

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boulton NS (1954) Unsteady radial flow to a pumped well allowing for delayed yield from storage. Int Assoc Sci Hydrol Publ 37:472–477

    Google Scholar 

  • Chang YC, Yeh HD, Chen GY (2010) Transient solution for radial two-zone flow in unconfined aquifers under constant-head tests. Hydrol Process 24:1496–1503

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chapuis RP, Belanger C, Chenaf D (2006) Pumping test in a confined aquifer under tidal influence. Groundwater 44:300–305

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chattopadhyay PB, Vedanti N, Singh VS (2015) A conceptual numerical model to simulate aquifer parameters. Water Resour Manag 29:771–784

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen CC, Chang CC (2003) Well hydraulics theory and data analysis of the constant-head test in an unconfined aquifer with the skin effect. Water Resour Res 39:1121–1135

    Google Scholar 

  • Deveughele M, Zokimila P, Cojean R (2010) Impact of an impervious shallow gallery on groundwater flow. Bull Eng Geol Environ 69:143–152

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duffield GM (2007) AQTESOLV for Windows Version 4.5 User’s Guide. HydroSOLVE Inc, Reston

    Google Scholar 

  • Fen CS, Yeh HD (2012) Effect of well radius on drawdown solutions obtained with Laplace Transform and Green’s Function. Water Resour Manag 26:377–390

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gunawardhana LN, Al-Rawas GA (2016) A comparison of trends in extreme rainfall using 20-year data in three major cities in Oman. The J Eng Res 13:137–148

    Google Scholar 

  • Halford KJ, Hanson RT (2002) User guide for the drawdown-limited, Multi-Node Well (MNW) Package for the U.S. Geological Survey’s modular three-dimensional ground-water flow model, versions MODFLOW-96 and MODFLOW-2000: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 02-293

  • Harbaugh AW, Banta ER, Hill MC, McDonald MG (2000) MODFLOW-2000, The U.S. Geological Survey Modular Ground-Water Model—User guide to modularization concepts and the ground water flow process. U.S. Geological Survey, Open-File Report 00-92.

  • Konikow LF, Hornberger GZ, Halford KJ, Hanson RT (2009) Revised multi-node well (MNW2) package for MODFLOW ground-water flow model. U.S. Geological Survey Techniques and Methods 6-A30

  • Lin YC, Li MH, Yeh HD (2017) An analytical model for flow induced by a constant-head pumping in a leaky unconfined aquifer system with considering unsaturated flow. Adv Water Resour 107:525–534

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mathias SA, Butler AP (2006) Linearized Richards’ equation approach to pumping tests analysis in compressible aquifers. Water Resour Res 42:W06408

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mathias SA, Todman LC (2010) Step-drawdown tests and the Forchheimer equation. Water Resour Res 46:W07514

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Modica E (1998) Analytical methods, numerical modelling, and monitoring strategies for evaluating the effects of ground-water withdrawals on unconfined aquifers in the New Jersey Coastal Plain: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 98–4003

  • Moench AF (1993) Computation of type curves for flow to partially penetrating wells in water-table aquifers. Groundwater 31:966–971

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moench AF (2008) Analytical and numerical analysis of an unconfined aquifer test considering unsaturated zone characteristics. Water Resour Res 44:W06409

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neuman SP (1972) Theory of flow in unconfined aquifers considering delayed response of the water table. Water Resour Res 8:1031–1045

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neuman SP (1974) Effect of partial penetration on flow in unconfined aquifers considering delayed gravity response. Water Resour Res 15:899–908

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nwankwor GI, Gillham RW, van der Kamp G, Akindunni FF (1992) Unsaturated and saturated flow in response to pumping of an unconfined aquifer: field evidence of delayed drainage. Groundwater 30:690–700

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pujades E, Lopez A, Carrera J, Vazquez-Sune E, Jurado A (2012) Barrier effect of underground structures on aquifers. Eng Geol 145–146:41–49

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ricci G, Enrione R, Eusebio A (2007) Numerical modelling of the interference between underground structures and aquifers in urban environment. In: Barták H, Romancov Z (eds) The Turin subway, underground space. Taylor and Francis Group, London, pp 1323–1329

    Google Scholar 

  • Todd DK, Mays LW (2004) Groundwater hydrology, 3rd edn. Wiley, New York. ISBN: 978-0-471-05937-0

Download references

Acknowledgements

Authors are grateful to Oman Airport Management Company (OAMC) for funding the project (CR/ENG/CAED/17/01) and their support in data collection.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, University of Moratuwa, Katubedda, Sri Lanka

    Luminda Niroshana Gunawardhana

  2. Department of Civil and Architectural Engineering, College of Engineering, Sultan Qaboos University, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman

    Fatma Al-Harthi & Ahmed Sana

  3. Ministry of Labor, Muscat, Oman

    Mahad Said Baawain

Authors
  1. Luminda Niroshana Gunawardhana
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Fatma Al-Harthi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Ahmed Sana
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Mahad Said Baawain
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

LG: conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis, writing—original draft, project administration. FA: validation, investigation. AS: methodology, resources & editing. MB: resources, review & editing, funding acquisition.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Luminda Niroshana Gunawardhana.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interests

The authors declare no competing interest.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary Information

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary file1 (DOCX 1327 kb)

Supplementary file2 (AVI 1451 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Gunawardhana, L.N., Al-Harthi, F., Sana, A. et al. Analytical and numerical analysis of constant-rate pumping test data considering aquifer boundary effect. Environ Earth Sci 80, 543 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-021-09833-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-021-09833-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation