Design of Optimal, Reliable Plume Capture Schemes: Application to the Gloucester Landfill Ground‐Water Contamination Problem

Abstract

A ground‐water quality management model is applied to the Gloucester Landfill site, located near Ottawa, Canada, to examine the effectiveness of various single‐well pumping schemes for the capture of dissolved contaminants. Deterministic and stochastic design analyses are conducted through ground‐water solute transport modeling of the site. The purpose of the modeling analysis is to develop contaminant capture designs that both require minimum pumping rates and possess high probabilities of success. Optimization based upon deterministic simulation indicates that a well located at the front of the plume would effect plume capture and require the lowest pumping rate. However, a smaller total volume of water could be pumped and still effect plume capture if the well were located at the center of the plume and pumped at a higher rate for a shorter time. Stochastic optimization analyses are used to overdesign the pumping rates so that possible design error is overcome. The analyses indicate that design reliability may be increased from 50 to 90 percent by pumping an additional 18 percent at the front or 27 percent at the center of the plume. These pumping overdesign factors are the first such values calculated using the stochastic optimization approach applied to a field site.

Integrated environmental monitoring and simulation system for use as a management decision support tool in urban areas

“…The adverse impacts of land®ll leachates on adjacent surface water and groundwater have prompted a great number of studies. These include research on the constituents of leachate (Kjeldsen et al, 1993;Tejero et al, 1993;Flyhammar et al, 1995;Fatta et al, 1998) as well as on the groundwater quality (Newell, 1990;Gailey and Gorelick, 1993;Blight, 1995;Fatta et al, 1997). Leachates are generated as the result of water or other liquid passing through waste.…”

The assessment of the effect of landfill leachate on ground-water quality—a case study. El-Akader landfill site—north Jordan

“…The impact of landfill leachates on the surface and ground-water has given rise to a great number of studies in recent years. These include the research done by Kjeldsen and others (1993), Loizidon & Kapetanios (1993), Tejero et al (1993), Flyhammar (1995), Newell et al (1990), and Gaily & Gorelick (1993).…”

Recent advances in modeling of well hydraulics

“…In addition, the optimization approaches can also be used in the analysis of capture zone delineation to examine the effectiveness of various single-well pumping scheme [321] or the most cost-effective strategies for hydraulic control of groundwater contamination [322,323]. Some studies have devoted to the assessment of the uncertainty about the delineation of well capture zones in heterogeneous aquifers.…”