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WORKING WITH WHAEM2000: CAPTURE ZONE DELINEATION FOR A CITY WELLFIELD IN A VALLEY FILL GLACIAL OUTWASH AQUIFER SUPPORTING WELLHEAD PROTECTION
Citation:
KRAEMER, S. R., H. M. HAITJEMA, AND V. A. KELSON. WORKING WITH WHAEM2000: CAPTURE ZONE DELINEATION FOR A CITY WELLFIELD IN A VALLEY FILL GLACIAL OUTWASH AQUIFER SUPPORTING WELLHEAD PROTECTION. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-05/151 (NTIS PB2006-102381), 2005.
Impact/Purpose:
The objective of this project is to develop computer tools to delineate the zone contributing recharge to public water supply wells, and thus, support State, Tribes, and communities toward best management practices as they revisit current delineations, and design wellhead protection areas for new wells.
Description:
The purpose of this document is to introduce through a case study the use of the ground water geohydrology computer program WhAEM for Microsoft Windows (32-bit), or WhAEM2000. WhAEM2000 is a public domain, ground-water flow model designed to facilitate capture zone delineation and protection area mapping in support of the state's and tribe's Wellhead Protection Programs (WHPP) and Source Water Assessment Planning (SWAP) for public water well supplies in the United States. Program operation and modeling practice is covered in a series of progressively more complex representations of a well field tapping a glacial outwash aquifer. WhAEM2000 provides an interactive computer environment for design of protection areas based on simple WHPAs (e.g., radius methods, well in uniform flow solutions), and geohydrologic modeling methods. Protection areas are designed and overlaid upon US Geological Survey Digital Line Graph (DLG), Digital Raster Graphic (DRG) or other electronic base maps. Geohydrologic modeling for steady pumping wells, including the influence of hydrological boundaries, such as rivers, recharge, no-flow boundaries, and in-homogeneity zones, is accomplished using the analytic element method. Reverse gradient tracelines of known residence time emanating from the pumping center are used to delineate the capture zones. WhAEM2000 has import and export utilities for DXF files and Shapefiles. WhAEM2000 has on-line help and tutorials. Install scripts and base maps are available for download from the EPA Center for Exposure Assessment Modeling web site (www.epa.gov/athens/software/whaem/index.html).