Simulated groundwater tracer study of the Alamitos Barrier Project, Los Angeles, California
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Authors
Pope, Joseph Christopher.
Subjects
Advisors
Date of Issue
2006-06
Date
June 2005
Publisher
Monterey California. Naval Postgraduate School
Language
en_US
Abstract
A simulated tracer study is performed on the Alamitos Groundwater Barrier Project (ABP), Los Angeles, California. The ABP consists of 43 injection wells that create a freshwater barrier to prevent intrusion of seawater into the coastal aquifer of southern Los Angeles County. The injection wells currently use a blend of recycled and imported water. Regional water quality regulations dictate the quantity of recycled water that can be injected into the aquifer. The regulations also require that the travel-time between the injection wells and the local production wells be greater than one year. The purpose of this study is to analyze the travel time of injected water into the ABP. A previously calibrated three-dimensional, finite element, coupled groundwater flow and transport model is used to simulate the movement of a conservative tracer in the Alamitos Barrier Project. The results of the simulations show that tracer travel times between the injection wells and the production wells typically exceed 60 years. The model results exhibit a high amount of numerical error when large time steps are used. Time-step sensitivity analysis indicates that a time step of one day or less will minimize model error. Further analysis of local head boundary conditions is recommended in order to provide a wider range of tracer travel times given variations in boundary hydraulic head levels.
Type
Thesis
Description
CIVINS (Civilian Institutions) Thesis document
Series/Report No
Department
Civil Engineering
Organization
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funder
U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, CIVINS program
Format
Citation
Distribution Statement
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.