Quali-quantitative considerations on low-flow well purging and sampling


Submitted: 13 July 2021
Accepted: 16 September 2021
Published: 29 September 2021
Abstract Views: 552
PDF: 314
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Authors

This article deals with both the main advantages and issues related to groundwater purging and sampling that are usually carried out through the so-called low-flow methodology or with the method based on the purging of 3-5 well volumes, which is still widely used in environmental monitoring. A review of the recent literature concerning the technical characteristics, innovations and modelling related to low-flow sampling is presented. The aim is to provide to the reader a broad overview on this specific field application and offer a new vision, which considers two aspects: 1. The qualitative aspect, relating to the representativeness of the sample taken through a correct purging of the monitoring well and the consequent correct interpretation of hydrochemical data; 2. The quantitative aspect, related to the possibility of using water level data during purging and low-flow sampling operations to estimate the soil horizontal hydraulic conductivity, without further investigations. Low-flow sampling methodology can be very useful especially for alluvial aquifers, providing representative samples of groundwater and hydrodynamic characteristics of the aquifer, with reduced costs and times. These two aspects are both important in the context of an environmental monitoring plan for a potentially contaminated site.


Sappa, G. ., & De Filippi, F. M. (2021). Quali-quantitative considerations on low-flow well purging and sampling. Acque Sotterranee - Italian Journal of Groundwater, 10(3), 9–14. https://doi.org/10.7343/as-2021-526

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Citations