Convective Contaminant Transport to Pumping Well

Travel time of a contaminant from the water table to a well screen, and its concentration at the well screen at given time intervals, can be determined through a radially symmetric, idealized flow system. Dimensionless flow nets that describe the plug flow of the contaminant are developed through analysis of the two-dimensional radial continuity equation in conjunction with a finite-element simulation of the potential distribution. Results of the study are dimensionless type curves that can be used to calculate travel times and concentrations of the contaminant under a multitude of conditions, for well screens that partially penetrate a small percentage of the aquifer thickness.