Groundwater Flow and Sand Body Interconnectedness in a Thick, Multiple‐Aquifer System

Abstract

Many so‐called sandstone aquifers are actually multiple‐aquifer systems consisting of discontinuous sand bodies distributed complexly in a matrix of lower‐permeability silts and clays. The arrangement and Interconnectedness of these various lithofacies strongly influence spatial patterns of hydraulic conductivity (K) and, in turn, groundwater flow and mass transport. A promising technique of estimating such patterns of K involves careful analysis of both subsurface geologic and subsurface hydrologic data. In this study the three‐dimensional distribution of K was estimated for a numerical flow model of part of the Wilcox aquifer system in Texas, using K data from core samples and pumping tests and more than 100 geophysical logs. The aquifer system, which is up to 320 m thick, consists of multiple, elongate sand bodies and silts and clays deposited in a fluvial environment and is similar to many other systems found in the Gulf Coast and other sedimentary basins. The resulting deterministic‐conceptual flow model demonstrates the importance and methods of incorporating geologic information in groundwater models. Flow in the aquifer is shown to be controlled not so much by K of the sands as by their continuity and Interconnectedness. Much of the aquifer system consists of large zones in which the fluvial channel‐fill sands are sparse and apparently disconnected, resulting in groundwater flow rates lower by a factor of 101 to 103 than in adjacent, well‐interconnected belts of fluvial channel‐fill sand belts. Modeling results also raise serious doubts regarding our ability to predict regional scale flow and mass transport in complex aquifers such as the Wilcox, using current technology. Though sand body Interconnectedness is critically important, it is also very difficult to estimate. One or two well‐connected sands among a system of otherwise disconnected sands can completely alter a velocity field. This is particularly true if the sands are connected vertically and nonzero vertical hydraulic gradients exist. Because the model is three‐dimensional, sensitivity of hydraulic head to heterogeneity or Interconnectedness is much less than normally observed in two‐dimensional models, and therefore heads computed by the model give little to no indication of the location of well‐interconnected zones. Thus such zones can easily go undetected, even in carefully calibrated models which yield reasonably accurate hydraulic heads. This is a significant point for modeling of solute transport.