Hydrologic Impact of Reservoir Filling on a Fractured Crystalline-Rock Aquifer

by Mark A. Widdowson, Univ of South Carolina, Columbia, United States,
Michael E. Meadows, Univ of South Carolina, Columbia, United States,
John R. Dickerson, Univ of South Carolina, Columbia, United States,
Pradeep Talwani, Univ of South Carolina, Columbia, United States,
Malcolm Schaeffer, Univ of South Carolina, Columbia, United States,
William H. Orne, Univ of South Carolina, Columbia, United States,



Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Structures for Enhanced Safety and Physical Security

Abstract:

A study of flow in and recharge to fractured rock has been initiated in conjunction with the construction and filling of a pumped-storage reservoir for a hydropower plant in the Blue Ridge Mountains of South Carolina. Pore pressure levels in the fractured rock aquifer will be measured and recorded as the reservoir is filled and drained over varying time intervals. Sealed piezometers intersecting fractures have been constructed and instrumented for the collection of pore pressure data prior to and during impoundment. Instrumentation consisting of a pressure transducer and a computer automated data acquisition system, developed by the USC Civil Engineering Department, allows continuous pressure reading and recording of data at any prescribed interval. The paper describes baseline hydrologic data prior to filling, observed changes in the fractured rock groundwater regime, and application of the data acquisition system to the project.

Subject Headings: Data collection | Rock mechanics | Reservoirs | Hydro power | Hydraulic fracturing | Pore pressure | Hydrologic data | South Carolina | United States

Services: Buy this book/Buy this article

 

Return to search