Topics covered in this course will include:

• An overview of groundwater sampling methods and best practices including fixed volume purge and sampling, low-flow sampling and zero-purge and passive sampling
• Workshops on sample origin, purge volumes and designing sampling plans for a variety of hydrogeologic scenarios
• Equipment demonstrations including water level instruments and meters, pumps and water quality instruments
• An overview of quality control and sampling from the field to lab

This course is designed for those who carry out groundwater sampling and monitoring in the field. We welcome those who are new to groundwater sampling, as well as those seeking to update and refresh their knowledge on the topic.

Previous attendees include experienced hydrogeologists, environmental managers, field technicians and more. Attendees come from all sectors, including environmental and geotechnical consultancies and contractors, academia, industry professionals, government agencies and other institutions involved with research, compliance, regulation and planning.

The workshop deals with education and learning of Hydrogeology. Groundwater education requires a high degree of abstraction and a large variety of competencies, ranging from applied field and laboratory methods to quantitative analysis involving advanced mathematical and physical concepts. Accordingly, the workshop aims to deliver applied knowledge and experiences of innovative teaching methods and materials for hydrogeology, such as interactive documents, various types of assessments, and collections of books and videos. The workshop not only aims to share experiences but also intends to discuss ways of future cooperation to form larger pools of educational materials.
In the second part, the workshop will engage attendees and remote participants in an open discussion of ways forward in defining a community-wide core curriculum, delivering this curriculum, and using this common definition to better promote hydrogeology to potential students. Additionally, we intend to provide an online option to join the second part remotely.

The workshop is intended for people who have an interest in teaching and knowledge transfer in Hydrogeology. This includes all groups from student assistants to faculty. There is no specific knowledge required to attend the workshop.

Groundwater education requires a high degree of abstraction and a large variety of competencies, ranging from applied field and laboratory methods to quantitative analysis involving advanced mathematical and physical concepts. Worldwide, we are facing a problem with stagnant or declining enrollments and shrinking or disappearing programs. We see some related needs to address this problem. First, we need to come together as a community to define the core content of an MS curriculum – what should every MS graduate know? Then, we need to follow a wide range of approaches to deliver this content, ranging from traditional in-person programs to online education and everything in between to provide primary education and continuing education to serve the all student needs.
With a general tendency towards digitalization and media-enriched learning, groundwater education is rapidly evolving a large pool of innovative methods and didactics, such as interactive documents, videos, and electronic questions for various assessments. Combined with a philosophy of openness and accessibility, the quality and outreach of groundwater education can be enhanced. Despite wide acceptance of the promise of new ways of delivering content, our field needs leadership in developing open, collaborative, workable approaches to use these tools effectively in the service of a standard core curriculum.
The first part of the workshop will share applied knowledge about recent and innovative advances in groundwater education. We will introduce methods and workflows in a practical way so that attendees can easily incorporate them into their own teaching. The methods and materials that the workshop will cover comprise, for example, (1) interactive documents based on Jupyter Notebook, (2) electronic assessments with different platforms for classroom- and individual use, (3) instructional videos ranging from screencasts to laboratory and field demonstrations, (4) implementation of measured real-world field data for applied education, and more.
The second part of the workshop will engage attendees and remote participants in an open discussion of ways forward in defining a community-wide core curriculum, in delivering this curriculum, and in using this common definition to better promote hydrogeology to potential students. One concrete outcome of the workshop will be an electronic survey that will be open throughout the IAH conference to begin to gather information to form a common curriculum and to strategize approaches to deliver and promote it.

Attendees are not required to bring specific materials. However, a smartphone or tablet would be useful to experience the teaching materials in an applied way.

We will provide access to notes, teaching materials (open source), and further useful resources.

Evaluating well performance and determining corrective actions can be accomplished with a methodology to guide when rehabilitation needs to be done to reduce operational costs. Wells, depending on their environment, will deteriorate at varying rates depending on many factors including: well design, hydrogeology, operations, water chemistry, microbiology, rehabilitation history and well usage. Water wells should be operated and maintained so that they are economical and the deterioration is not irreversible or detrimental to any downstream equipment or water user. Changes that occur during the life cycle are different for every water well and are dependent on a number of factors. Some of the changes in water wells are reversible with maintenance, some wells will need the replacement of equipment or structural repair and cleaning while in some cases the expense of maintenance and repair is not worth the investment and the well will need to be replaced. By creating a baseline, changes in the operating parameters of the well can be monitored and a determination can be made as to when and what type of corrective action needs to be done.

The workshop will be of benefit to water-well professionals that are engaged in the design, operation and ownership of water-supply wells. A basic understanding of water well design and operations will be beneficial, but not required.

10:15-10:25 Part 1 – Introduction/Operational Stage of a Well (Hanna)
Overview: how to determine well aging and time to rehabilitate
10:25– 11:10 Part 2 – Chemical Changes in Well Systems (Schnieders)
Key parameters to monitor and what those changes mean
11:10–11:30 Part 3 – Wire to Water Efficiency (Hanna)
Monitoring pump and motor efficiency
11:30–11:45 Break
11:45–12:30 Part 4 – Microbiological Changes in Well Systems (Schnieders)
Microbiology of a well system, parameters to monitor
12:30–13:15 Part 5 – Physical degradation of well systems (Hanna)
Corrosion and structural failure
13:15–14:30 Lunch
14:45–15:30 Part 6 – Monitoring changes in well systems (Schnieders)
Data collection and evaluation
15:30–16:15 Part 7 – Chemical Selection and Application for Well Cleaning (Schnieders)
Types and volumes of chemistries used to clean a well
16:15–16:30 Break
16:30–17:00 Part 8 – Equipment, Handling of Chemicals and Disposal (Hanna)
Methods of cleaning and placement of well cleaning chemistry
17:00–17:30 Part 9 – Coliforms – Control and Disinfection (Schnieders)
Proper methods for well disinfection
17:30–18:00 Part 10 – Well Economic (Analysis Hanna)

Text Book: Operational Stage of the Well – Evaluating the forms of well deterioration and developing corrective actions, 2016, Hanna, T.M, Schnieders, M.J. and Schnieders, J.H.

Printouts of the PowerPoint presentations for note taking.

Thomas Hanna is employed as a the Technical Director/Hydrogeologist for Johnson Screens where he works in areas of well design, construction, rehabilitation and development. He received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Geology from Michigan State University and Master of Science Degree in Geology from Western Michigan University. He is a Register Professional Geologist in the states of Arizona, Kentucky and Wyoming.
Before working for Johnson Screens Mr. Hanna worked over 15 years as a hydrogeologist for several ground-water consulting firms including Hydrologic Consultants, Inc., Papadopulos Associates, and Golder Associates. His experiences include hydrogeologic investigations, design and optimization of well efficiencies for mine dewatering and water supply investigations.
Mr. Hanna has authored the Operational Stage of the Well, tree chapters of the 3rd Edition of Ground Water and Wells, and numerous technical papers. He has been an instructor and invited lecturer for many ground-water organizations and universities.
Michael (Mike) Schnieders is the lead hydrogeologist and president of Water Systems Engineering, Inc., a diagnostic laboratory and consulting firm in Ottawa, Kansas. Mike received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Geology from Kansas State University and a Master of Science in Geology from Wichita State University. Mike is a Registered Professional Geologist and a Professional Hydrologist with a distinction in groundwater.
Mike co-authored the Operational Stage of the Well along with numerous technical papers on water resources, well fouling, and water testing. Mike was the National Ground Water Association’s 2017 McEllhiney Distinguished Lecturer in Water Well Technology.

Particle transport in the subsurface: New findings and novel instruments
Artificial tracing techniques and the use of environmental tracers are among the most conclusive methods in hydrogeology and are therefore among the most important tools – not only in research but also for applied questions. Tracer tests can provide clear evidence of underground connections. In addition, flow and transport parameters such as flow velocity, residence time, and dispersion can be quantitatively determined. Soluble fluorescent tracers are still the most important tracer substances. However, particle tracers are of interest for questions related to the transport and behaviour of pathogenic microorganisms and particulate contaminants in groundwater. This workshop teaches the basics and presents innovations in particle tracing technology – from preparation, analysis, and quantitative evaluation to specific practical examples.
Special focus is given to the transport of microorganisms, DNA, sediment particles, and microplastics in the introductory session. In the afternoon analytics session, practical experience in handling state-of-the art instruments will be provided.

No prior knowledge on the topics required

Morning session (10:15-13:15) Presentations
Nadine Goeppert: Introduction to artificial tracing techniques and the use of environmental tracers
Jan Willem Foppen: DNA tracers and transport of viruses and bacteria
Elizabeth Hasenmueller & Teresa Baraza: Analysis and transport of microplastics
Wolfgang Vogl: Enzymatic determination of E. coli in water

Afternoon session (14:30-18:00) Presentations of instruments and applications
Topic: Background to measurement methods, analytical protocols and instruments including on-site presentation of instruments (in parallel session dependent on participant number)
Felix Grimmeisen: Turbidity
Vivian Hauss: Cell counting
Markus Klotz: Particle counting
Andreas Stein: Microflotation for water purification
Wolfgang Vogl: Enzyme measurements for E. coli determination

PDF files of presentations

Stable isotopes of H and O have been used for decades to trace the flow of water through natural systems. Initially these applications were on a global scale, but as measurement methods have improved so the range of applications now includes ocean and atmosphere studies, biological sciences, and of course hydrogeology. This workshop will refresh attendees on basic principles like fractionation and distillation, cover calculation of meteoric water lines, mass balance and hydrograph separation, and then deal with topics like recharge area, groundwater-surface water interaction and plant waters in more detail. Lectures will be complemented with practical exercises where the attendees will be given small datasets and guided through calculations and presentation of findings.

This course is aimed at water researchers or professionals who have some knowledge of chemistry or isotopes and want to know how to work with H and O isotope data.
Anyone is welcome, but it will likely benefit postgraduates (MSc to PhD) or early to mid-career hydrogeologists. Although the theory will be covered as a refresher, the emphasis will be on being able to work with data, calculate equations, plot lines and graphs and interpret the data.

Participants need to be able to work with small datasets in a spreadsheet and plot graphs with line and point data. The presenter will provide data in .csv, .xls, or similar formats.

10h15 – 10h45 — Welcome and Introduction
10h45 – 12h00 — Fundamentals: fractionation, distillation, isotopic hydrological cycle, MWLs, global patterns, isotope effects, D-excess
12h00 – 12h30 — Break
12h30 – 13h30 — Applications: paleowaters, hydrograph separation, mass balance, etc.
13h30 – 14h30 — lunch
14h30 – 17h00 — Exercises: MWL calculation, isotope effect gradient, mixing
17h00 – 17h30 — Discussion: field sampling

All presented material will be available digitally as .pdf files, including the lectures and practical exercises.