General Method for Predicting Capture Zone Widths for PV-Powered Pump-and-Treat Systems Using PVWATTS and Basic Hydrogeologic Data

Abstract

Pump and treat (P&T) is one of the most commonly used technologies to remove and/or contain contaminated groundwater. An appropriate delineation of capture zones is necessary to design an effective P&T system. The study presented in this paper focuses on developing a feasibility level methodology to estimate capture zone widths for photovoltaic (PV)-powered P&T systems without energy storage throughout the continental United States as a function of daily average solar insolation data, transmissivity, and hydraulic gradient. Maps depicting predicted capture zone widths for specified transmissivity values and a hydraulic gradient are developed. The applicability of the developed methodology is illustrated with two actual sites where groundwater remediation has taken place. The methodology presented in this study can be used to assess the feasibility of PV-powered P&T systems without energy storage, in terms of capture zone width, anywhere within the continental United States. Detailed capture zone analysis should be performed during system design.