Course Description

The use of computer modeling tools has become a standard practice in many groundwater investigations. Groundwater resources evaluation, groundwater quality assessment, contamination site assessment and remediation, environmental impact review, and other groundwater related activities frequently rely on computer models as a means of understanding groundwater flow and the fate of contaminants in the subsurface. This course introduces the conceptual principles and practical aspects of groundwater modeling in an intuitive yet comprehensive manner. The course objective is to demystify the use of groundwater models by providing solid understanding of the principles, methods, assumptions, and limitations of groundwater models, as well as hands on experience with the planning, preparation, execution, presentation, and review of a modeling project. The first half of the course reviews the concepts of groundwater flow and transport, and of finite difference and finite element methods. It provides an overview of various software programs for ground water flow and transport modeling and accompanying pre- and post-processing programs. The second half of the course features hands-on exercises based on the USGS MODFLOW flow model and a compatible transport model. Exercises include site-specific models as well as basin/watershed wide models. The course is taught by experienced instructors familiar with many aspects of groundwater modeling and California hydrogeology. At the end of the course, participants should be able to understand and actively engage in planning, supervision, and/or review of groundwater modeling projects.

Who Should Attend

The short-course is intended for professional consultants, technical personnel in engineering/geology firms and irrigation/water districts, regulatory agency specialists and managers, and those in the legal community specialized on groundwater issues. Participants should have a working knowledge of the principles of groundwater hydrology and be familiar with the PC Windows 95 (or Windows 2000) environment. No formal training in computer programming is necessary.

Course Topics

• principles and concepts of groundwater modeling
• overview of groundwater modeling software
• conceptual model development
• data collection and preparation
• model grid design
• boundary conditions: concepts and application
• implementing rivers, lakes, recharge, drainage, and other special situations
• modeling multiple aquifer systems
• sensitivity analysis, model calibration and verification
• contaminant transport modeling
• capture zone analysis

Course Instructors

Graham E. Fogg, Ph.D., is a professor of hydrogeology with the Hydrology Program of the Department of Land, Air, and Water Resources, University of California, Davis. He received a B.S. in hydrology at the University of New Hampshire, a M.S. in hydrology from the University of Arizona, and a Ph.D. in geology from The University of Texas at Austin. He is currently teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in groundwater hydrology and groundwater modeling. His research interests include geologic-geostatistical characterization of subsurface heterogeneity, mass transport in heterogeneous porous media, numerical modeling of ground-water systems, and regional system hydrogeology. Fogg has 20 years experience characterizing and analyzing groundwater under a diversity of conditions in the southwest and western United States.

Thomas Harter, Ph.D., received a B.S. in hydrology from the Universities of Freiburg, Germany and a M.S. in hydrology from the University of Stuttgart, Germany. He received his Ph.D. in hydrology (with emphasis on subsurface hydrology) at the University of Arizona, where he became the 1991 Harshbarger fellow for outstanding research in subsurface flow and transport modeling. In 1995, he joined the faculty at the Department of Land, Air, and Water Resources, University of California, Davis. Harter is in charge of the University of California Cooperative Extension Groundwater Hydrology Program*. His research focuses on nonpoint-source pollution of groundwater, groundwater resources evaluation under uncertainty, groundwater modeling, and contaminant transport. Dr. Harter has done extensive modeling of heterogeneous aquifer/vadose zone systems.

Peter Schwartzman, M.S., received a B.A. in geology and environmental studies from University of Pennsylvania and a M.S. in hydrology from the University of Arizona. He currently provides hydrogeologic consulting as an associate at Pacific Groundwater Group in Seattle, Washington. Schwartzman has had extensive experience in hydrogeologic characterization and groundwater flow modeling. He has contributed to development of groundwater modeling software and is experienced with a variety of models and modeling interfaces. He is interested in modeling regional flow systems, stream-aquifer interactions, and contaminant transport simulation.

Course Benefits
At the end of the course, participants should have:

• a well-founded knowledge of the principles in groundwater flow and transport modeling.
• familiarity with the major elements of groundwater modeling studies.
• hands-on experience in designing simple groundwater flow and transport studies with MODFLOW
• using popular groundwater modeling software.
• a fundamental understanding of the capabilities and limitations of groundwater modeling.
• an understanding of the appropriate role of groundwater models in groundwater assessment and management.

Course Location

The Course will be held at the Seaport Conference Center, 459 Seaport Court, Redwood City, CA 94063, (650) 482-3500. The Course will run each day from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.

For more information, contact Mary Megarry at mmegarry@nossaman.com or 916-446-3626.

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