Modeling Groundwater Flow and Contaminant Transport

Abstract

Groundwater, extracted from deep geological formations (called aquifers) through pumping wells, constitutes an important component of many wa- ter resource systems. A spring constitutes an outlet for groundwater from an underlying aquifer to ground surface; its discharge rate may be strongly af- fected by pumping from the same aquifer in the vicinity of the spring.Water can be injected through specially designed wells into an aquifer, say, for stor- age purposes. A water table aquifer can also be artificially recharged through infiltration ponds. These are just a few examples of factor that may affect the management of a groundwater system. Decisions associated with such management include, for example,