At the AEHS Foundation 35th Annual International Conference on Soil, Water, Energy, and Air in San Diego, Dr. Todd Halihan highlighted how Electrical Hydrogeology™ is advancing both groundwater monitoring and water resource development through innovative subsurface imaging approaches with both a presentation and a poster, the below provides a summary of each and a link to the materials.
Traditional groundwater monitoring relies on discrete wells that typically sample less than 1% of the subsurface and are limited by well placement and screened interval. This limited coverage can miss key features such as preferential flow paths, heterogeneities, and vertical migration between aquifer zones.
In his presentation, Dr. Halihan explained how electrical hydrogeology monitoring infrastructure, using horizontal multicore electrode cables trenched just below ground surface (see first image below), can generate continuous, high-density 2D subsurface images. This approach allows teams to monitor vadose zone moisture conditions, groundwater table fluctuations, bioactivity changes, and other subsurface reactions over time. The result is a more complete understanding of subsurface dynamics while also reducing long-term monitoring effort and cost.
In western Oklahoma, a municipality faced the challenge of developing a new groundwater wellfield with limited hydrogeologic data. Using GeoTrax Survey™ electrical resistivity imaging, the team mapped subsurface electrical properties across roughly one square mile to identify zones of enhanced porosity and permeability.
Seven test wells were targeted based on the integrated electrical imaging, geology, and borehole data—and all seven delivered strong production results, each capable of producing upwards of 1 MGD. By guiding drilling with high-resolution electrical imaging (see second image below), the project avoided costly trial-and-error drilling and saved the client millions of dollars while accelerating the development timeline.
