John Bredehoeft

Conjunctive Use: The Impact of Pumping Wells On a Nearby Stream

Abstract:

For 2011, the Northern California lecturer was Dr. John Bredehoeft of The Hydrodynamics Group. For 32 years, Dr. Bredehoeft devoted time to scientific research and high level management positions with the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS). In 1995, when he retired as a senior research geologist from the USGS, he established The Hydrodynamics Group, located in Sausalito, where he continues to offer consulting services. While at the USGS, Dr. Bredehoeft and his colleague, George Pinder, developed and published the first widely utilized numerical groundwater flow model for which they received the Horton Award of the American Geophysical Union. They also developed the first widely used contaminant transport model for which they received the Meinzer Award of the Geological Society of America. In addition to doing research with the USGS, Dr. Bredehoeft has held a number of teaching positions; he has taught at the University of Illinois, Stanford University, the University of California at Santa Cruz, and San Francisco State University.

Dr. Bredehoeft presented on the topic Conjunctive Use: The Impact of Pumping Wells on a Nearby Stream.” The lecture described the impact on streamflow from pumping in an alluvial aquifer. This classic hydrogeology problem was first solved by Theis in 1941 with an analytical solution and using the principles of superposition. Glover and Balmer simplified the analytical solution using an error function in 1954. Economic studies that Dr. Bredehoeft was involved in at “Resources for the Future” in the 1970s demonstrated that the output from the combined system, wells and stream, could be doubled through effective management. Dr. Bredehoeft also elaborated on how the problem is still misunderstood by many hydrogeologists, and many myths remain, even though various investigators have addressed facets of this problem for more than 7 decades.

Bio:

In 1995 John Bredehoeft retired as a senior research geologist from the USGS, and established the consulting firm--The Hydrodynamics Group--he devoted the previous 32 years with the USGS. During his years at the USGS, he held both scientific research and high-level management positions.

At the USGS, working together, George Pinder and John Bredehoeft developed and published award winning models: 1) the first widely utilized numerical groundwater flow model (Pinder & Bredehoeft. 1968), and 2) the first widely used contaminant transport model (Bredehoeft & Pinder, 1973). During his career in research, Bredehoeft worked on a variety of other topics including analytical methods for the field determination of aquifer parameters, and geophysical experiments for both the prediction and control of earthquakes. He spent two years at Resources for the Future, where he engaged in analytical studies of the economics of groundwater management. He engaged in experiments utilizing water wells as strain meters at Parkfield, Californnia, and in studies of the hydrodynamics of deep sedimentary basins. In recent years he has also worked on studies of contaminant movement and nuclear waste disposal.

He has received numerous awards, including the Horton Medal of the American Geophysical Union (the highest award given to a hydrologist), the Penrose Medal of the Geological Society of America (the highest award given to a geologist),, and GRA's 2004 Lifetime Achievement Award.