1. Evaluating Aquifer Storage and Recovery
Joel Stevens
December 2, 2003
GIS in Water Resources

2. What is ASR? Temporary storage of water in an aquifer
Used in place of water tanks and reservoirs
Water is injected during wet or surplus periods and pumped during dry or peak need periods
Animation and drawing courtesy of ASR Systems LLC

3. Project Goals
Original Objective: Use GIS to show the change of the TDS concentration gradient of the injected “bubble” over time or its storage period.
Modified Objective: Use GIS to physically represent well locations, injection volumes, and differences in hydrogeologic conditions.

4. Site Location: North Padre Island
Corpus Christi

5. Well Parameters r = (Q/πbφ)1/2 where: r = radius Q = discharge (-)
b = aquifer thickness
φ = porosity
Assumptions
Fluid displacement w/o dispersion
Aquifer is homogeneous and isotropic
Darcian flow conditions
Well 1
Aquifer Thickness = 50 ft
Porosity = 40 %
Injection Rate = 100 GPM
Injection Time period = 10 days
Total Injection Volume = 1.44 MG
Day
Date
Injection (ft3)
Radius (ft) 1
1/1/2003
19250
17.5 2
1/2/2003
24.8 3
1/3/2003
30.3 4
1/4/2003
35.0 5
1/5/2003
39.1 6
1/6/2003
42.9 7
1/7/2003
46.3 8
1/8/2003
49.5 9
1/9/2003
52.5 10
1/10/2003
55.4

6. Creating Injection Plumes using Buffer Wizard

7. The Problem of Scale
Using USA size resolution for plumes that are measured in tens of feet
Change grid size from 1000 to 10

8. Combining Plumes in ArcCatalog
Build attribute tables from each of the well’s ten buffers or plumes.

9. Tracking Analyst Animation
ArcMap Product
Tracking Analyst Animation

10. Interpolating Volume in ArcScene
Animation

11. Conclusions
You can manipulate ArcGIS to graphically illustrate simple groundwater processes.
ArcGIS is still not suitable for more complex groundwater modeling.

12. Special thanks to Gil Strassberg from the Center for Research in Water Resources
Questions?