Dynamic Flow Profiling

Overview

Increasingly stringent standards for trace levels of contaminants such as chromium, arsenic, nitrates, and TCP, in combination with a surge in demand for groundwater resources, have led to a need for more efficient and precise well characterization. Under exclusive license to BESST, Inc. from the U.S. Geological Survey, the Dye Tracer system uses an NSF 60 certified rhodamine dye solution injected at varying depths within a well while the well is still operating at a steady state. The return rate of the injected dye provides high-definition data that is analyzed by BESST to determine flow dynamics throughout the well. Other conventional methods of characterizing wells are expensive, involve disrupting water service, and do not accurately represent water quality with flow velocity data during steady-state pumping conditions. BESST’s miniaturized technology allows the well to operate normally while the diagnostic analysis is conducted, which provides representative data under actual pumping conditions with no test pump required.

Objectives

To delineate zonal flow contributions along the screened sections of a well.
To delineate zonal flow percentage contributions along the screened sections of a well.
To develop a customized sampling plan for water quality analysis.
To determine mass transfer of contaminants throughout a well.
To reduce or eliminate dependence on expensive treatment technologies.
To delineate plume migration within an active well field.

Combining BESST’s HydroBooster Pump System with the Dynamic Flow Profile has produced diagnostic data that has revealed opportunities for many different well modifications. Installation of sleeves and packers at precise depths along well screens can prevent contaminants from entering wells, resulting in water treatment cost savings that have been estimated at nearly 80 percent annually. Engineered suctions and pump replacements to address energy use and sand invasion are other common modifications that can be implemented following a Dynamic Flow Profile.