Delineation of wellhead protection areas in fractured rocks

Abstract

In 1989, the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey prepared the report under an agreement with the Environmental Protection Agency to evaluate methods for wellhead protection area (WHPA) delineation in unconfined fractured-rock aquifers. Two fractured-rock settings were selected for the study: Precambrian crystalline rocks in central Wisconsin and Silurian dolomite in northeastern Wisconsin. The methods tested ranged from simple approaches to complex computer models. Four WHPA delineation approaches are suggested for unconfined fractured-rock aquifers that do not behave as porous media.