E-PUR Services

Groundwater Modeling

E-PUR excels in developing and verifying conceptual models of groundwater and surface-water systems. Getting the watershed or basin-level conceptual model right is an essential step to every water supply or habitat conservation project, from sustainable supply capacity to thermal stabilization. We utilize parametric models such as the U.S. Geological Survey’s MODFLOW and non-parametric models such as groundwater level kriging and neural-network models from empirical data sets of what is or has actually happened as one of the better ways to predict what will happen. For parametric numerical models such as MODFLOW, FEFLOW and the like we use model-independent parameter estimation and uncertainty analysis from PEST. PEST provides a meaningful understanding of the parameters to which a particular site-specific model is most sensitive while improving model calibrations tremendously.

Source Protection and Water Quality Impacts Modeling

E-PUR has the experience in developing long-term groundwater source planning, prevention, and protection, including:

E-PUR uses conceptual, numerical, analytical, and empirical models to clearly communicate existing and potential impacts to water supply wells and source aquifers arising from known or suspected contaminant sources and from nonpoint sources such as infiltrating runoff. We follow the mantra of keep it simple and focused on the objectives. Additionally, E-PUR and its personnel have unique experience using various types of groundwater and surface water models to simulate flow rates and transport of contaminants, such as dissolved salts, between groundwater and surface water.

Groundwater Aquifer Testing and Analysis

Aquifer testing is one of the fundamental services supplied by E-PUR. An aquifer test requires both experience in their proper conduct and an understanding of the application of the various mathematical models to data obtained from a pumping or injection stress on an aquifer. These mathematical models yield estimates of key aquifer parameters such as water storage capacity and yield. E-PUR’s experts have designed, specified and conducted hundreds of aquifer tests from simple slug-in and slug-out tests to long term extraction and injection tests extending for months to obtain essential data on both the saturated and unsaturated areas below the ground. Our experts understand the mathematics of the analytical models being applied for aquifer parameter estimation and use the ones that best fit the data and the known characteristics of the regional aquifers.

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