Aquifer Airlift Testing

Presentation for the CWWCA Annual Meeting 2008

by Hank Baski
Colorado Springs
January 12, 2008
Overview Aquifer Airlift Testing

Ground Water: Fallacies & Forecasts

• Commonly believed fallacies hinder optimal development of water wells:
– The use of clear water as drilling fluid results in the “best” well
– Artificial gravel pack is needed for sand-free, high-efficiency wells
– Step pumping aquifer tests can determine well efficiency
– Air-lifting cannot be trusted for reliable aquifer pumping tests
and can air-bind a well
• New technologies and innovations will impact the water well industry
over the next decade:
– Horizontal wells will play a greater role in water recovery and injection
– Pricing for larger sedimentary wells will be based on
well efficiency instead of footage
– Unique, new methods for well development will arrive
– Energy savings will drive widespread adoption of
aquifer thermal energy storage
• Case Study: Development of the Denver Basin Aquifers
• Question & answer session

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Experience Aquifer Airlift Testing

“Hank’s Guide to Wellness” Builds on 40 Years Of:

• Drilling
– Started in water well business while in high school
– Helped to build a cable tool drilling rig for the family drilling
business in Northern Minnesota
– Moved business to Pueblo, Colorado
• Consulting in Ground Water Hydrology
– Based in Denver, Colorado
– Projects nationwide
• Manufacturing
– Recognized need for ground water tools
– Decided to develop products: pitless units, inflatable packers, and
downhole flow control valves (currently seven patents on these)

My Motto (I’m not an easy boss…): “question everything &

everyone - including yourself - and be willing to change”
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Experience Aquifer Airlift Testing

My Experience with Air Lifting

• First used in 1959 with Ingersoll-Rand down-the-hole hammer
rig in Northern Minnesota
• Aquifer testing
– 1968 to 1974 with Wright Water Engineers
– 1976 to 1987 as self-employed hydrologist
– 1978 to present in “free” consulting to various customers

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Basics Aquifer Airlift Testing

How & Why Does Airlifting “Pump” Water

- and Related Facts
• Column of water in a well is replaced with an air-water mixture
that “weighs” less
• In most cases airlift aquifer testing is more reliable than other
methods as casing and nearby fracture storage effects are
minimized
• Pumping rates and pumping levels are easy to obtain

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Basics Aquifer Airlift Testing

Example
air
air-water mixture
0

300 static water level

pumping
600 water level

1,000 end of air pipe

1,200 non-aerated water
1,600 Aquifer
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Basics Aquifer Airlift Testing

Air-lifting: Principles, Definitions & Example

Principles of Operation:
1. Aerated column is lighter than submergence
(think of a lake and then progress to a well)
2. Aerated column during pumping + friction loss = submergence
3. Empirical relationships are “state-of-the-art”. Probably, it’s
impossible to derive and/or calculate accurate formulas describing
requirements and performance of all air-lift operations.
Key Definitions: Example Specifications:
• Pumping Submergence • 8 inch borehole or well pipe I.D.
PS % = (APD - PWL) / APD • 2 inch air pipe I.D.
APD = Air Pipe Depth • 40% pumping submergence
PWL = Pumping Water Level • 1900 cfm air compressor delivery
• Static Submergence • 450 gpm air-lift pumping capacity
SS psi = APD - SWL
APD = Air Pipe Depth
SWL = Static Water Level
Sources: Why Air-lift Pumping Tests by Hank Baski (Feb’79), Baski Inc. Catalog #6
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Basics Aquifer Airlift Testing

Approximate Air-lift Pumping Capacities

Borehole Air Air Compressor Requirements
or Compressor • Pressure rating [psi] must be 20%
well Air Pipe Pumping Submergence % Delivery greater than the Static Submergence
Pipe Tube [psi].
Nominal Actual • Volume rating [cfm or cubic feet per
Size OD 10% 20% 40% 60% 80% minute] must approximate values from
(inch) (inch) (gpm) (gpm) (gpm) (gpm) (gpm) (cfm) this table for hydrology testing:
3/8 1/8 0.08 0.3 0.5 0.7 7.4 – If the water production surges, i.e.
1/2 3/16 0.17 0.6 1 1.4 12 varies in gpm rate, then a
3/4 1/4 0.4 1.4 2.4 3.4 20 GREATER cfm is needed.
1 3/8 1 3 5 7 31 – On the other hand, well
1-1/2 1/2 3 8 13 18 77 development by air-lift pumping is
enhanced by surging; therefore, a
Pipe Pipe
LOWER cfm is desired for part of
Nominal Nominal
the development period.
Size Size
2 1/2 0.5 5 15 25 35 120
– Do not significantly exceed the
listed air delivery rate [cfm] as this
3 3/4 2.5 15 40 65 90 270
will dramatically increase the
4 1 5 28 75 125 175 470
friction loss in the annular area,
5 1-1/4 7.5 50 140 230 320 740
causing the water production to
6 1-1/2 12 80 225 370 520 1100
decrease to the point where if too
8 2 25 150 450 720 1000 1900 much air is introduced, no water will
10 2-1/2 50 300 800 1300 1800 3000 be produced.
12 4 75 450 1200 1950 2700 4000
14 4 90 600 1700 2900 4000 5100 NOTE: 1 foot of water = 0.433 psi
16 5 100 800 2400 3900 5500 6600 1 psi = 2.31 feet of water

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How To Aquifer Airlift Testing

Airlift Set-up For Aquifer Testing

• Maximize water production by using 1/3 of casing I.D for the air
pipe O.D.
• Calculate air compressor volume requirement for 6,000 feet/min.
velocity in annulus
• Pressure requirement for “unloading” is submergence (in PSI)
plus 10 to 20% more

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How To Aquifer Airlift Testing

Things To Consider For Aquifer Airlift Testing In

Mountain Wells
• During drilling the drill cuttings “load” in the annulus reduces
water production
• 4-1/2” drill pipe also reduces water production in a 6” hole: the
optimum air pipe O.D. for testing would be 1-1/2” nominal

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How To Aquifer Airlift Testing

Airlift Pumping Water Levels Can Be Determined

Without Direct Measurement
• Pumping water level is a function of
– Hole size
– Drill pipe O.D. and type of joint
– Depth of drill pipe or hammer
– Water production

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How To Aquifer Airlift Testing

Water Level Pressure Measurement

air
air-water mixture
0

300 static water level

pumping
600 water level
PVC piezometer pipe
(actual water level inside)

1,000 end of air pipe

1,200 non-aerated water
1,600 Aquifer
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How To Aquifer Airlift Testing

Pumping Rate Measurement

• Flume in discharge ditch

• Orifice in side or bottom of discharge tank
• Bucket and stop watch
• Water meter in pipe from discharge tank

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How To Aquifer Airlift Testing

Flow from Discharge Tank

air-water mixture

orifice
water
orifice meter

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How To Aquifer Airlift Testing

Flow From Flume in Ditch

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Step Pumping & Well Efficiency Aquifer Airlift Testing

The “Bible” Compares Two Kinds Of Pumping Tests

Pumping Tests Constant Rate Step Drawdown
Principle • Install one or more observation • Pumping rate is increased in
wells at appropriate distance from steps at regular intervals
the pumping well • Example:
• Pump at constant rate for 24 or – 100 gpm for 2 hours
72 hours, depending on type of – 200 gpm for next 2 hours
aquifer – 300 gpm for next 2 hours
• Take periodic drawdown – and so on…
measurements from the pumping • Take data in both pumped and
and observation wells observation wells

Typical • Time-drawdown graph in semi- • Time-drawdown graph in semi-

logarithmic plot logarithmic plot
Analysis • Distance-drawdown graph in • Distance-drawdown graph in
semi-logarithmic plot semi-logarithmic plot

Source: “Groundwater and Wells” by Fletcher G. Driscoll / Johnson Screen (Weatherford), Second Edition
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Step Pumping & Well Efficiency Aquifer Airlift Testing

Early Time Data is Almost Worthless in Most Cases

• The initial “S-shaped” component is due to casing storage
• In most cases, specific capacity is more reliable than slopes (semi-log)
or matchpoints (log-log) of aquifer test data for calculating transmissivity
• 10% Rule: It is not necessary to have an uninterrupted aquifer test.
I have found that a shut-down equal to about 10% or less of previous
pumping time is OK.
Pumping Rate [gpm]
Specific Capacity [gpm/ft] =
Drawdown Drawdown [feet]
0
Casing
Storage Effect

B
A
10 100 1,000 C log time [min]

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Step Pumping & Well Efficiency Aquifer Airlift Testing

Comparing Theoretical and Actual Drawdown . . .

Source:
“Groundwater and Wells”
by Fletcher G. Driscoll /
Johnson Screen
(Weatherford),
Second Edition

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Step Pumping & Well Efficiency Aquifer Airlift Testing

. . . Leads to the Concept of Well Efficiency

Distance - Drawdown Graph in Semi-log Plot
Ground
Level

Static
Water Level Theoretical assuming
Actual (Extrapolated) well efficiency
Drawdown Drawdown remains the
Pumping same over
time
Water Level

Distance from 1 10 100 1000 [casing radii]

center of well

Theoretical Drawdown [feet]

Well Efficiency [%] =
Actual Drawdown [feet]
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Step Pumping & Well Efficiency Aquifer Airlift Testing

Turbulent and Laminar Flow Components in Step

Drawdown Tests Do Not Measure Well Efficiency
• Many investigators and practicing engineers have (erroneously)
equated turbulent flow with well inefficiency
• They falsely assume that the laminar head loss is the ordinary
aquifer loss and that the turbulent head loss component is
strictly the inefficiency drawdown component due to aquifer
damage and head loss through the well screen
• However, we have seen efficient wells which exhibit some
turbulent flow - and also have seen inefficient wells where the
excess head loss due to formation damage and flow through the
screening device is essentially laminar !

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Step Pumping & Well Efficiency Aquifer Airlift Testing

Not Mentioned Even in the “Bible”: There Are

More Than Two Kinds of Pumping Aquifer Tests
1. Constant Rate, with step drawdown considered a variant
2. Constant Drawdown, where one records the pumping rate
required to maintain a given drawdown
3. Variable Discharge & Drawdown (e.g. using air-lift pumping)
Casing
Storage Effect
Vertical Axis Variables:
1. s (drawdown)
2. 1/Q (gpm)
3. s/Q
10 100 1,000
log time
[min]

Air-lift pumping proves the cheapest & most effective aquifer test

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Fallacy: Air-lifting Cannot Be Trusted Aquifer Airlift Testing

Fallacy: Air-lifting Cannot Be Trusted for Reliable

Aquifer Pumping Tests and Can Air-bind a Well
• Who here has experienced air-binding first-hand?
• Reasons why people have opposed use of air-lifting
– Unwarranted fear of “air-binding”
– Air-lift pumping tests force you to think of formation pressures
rather than water levels. But this results in better data collection,
analysis, and understanding of the aquifer regimes.
– Lack of easily-accessible, broad-based analysis methods
• Well development with air proves advantageous
– Surge block development can be improved by simultaneously using
air. While surging, air can be used to pump out water and fines.
– For “stubborn wells”, high-pressure air-jetting loosens up and
removes drilling mud and fines

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Fallacy: Air-lifting Cannot Be Trusted Aquifer Airlift Testing

Air-lifting:
Evolution, Design, and Advantages
• Air-lift pumping was used before
centrifugals
• At least 80% of the aquifer tests that I
have conducted used air-lift pumping
• Advantages include: There are some disadvantages:
– Readily available equipment – Limited by minimum
(difficult to obtain conventional pumps submergence requirements
for well diameters < 4 inch or for – Not well understood
productions > 2,000 gpm) – Air compressor availability may
– Dependability (no moving parts so high be limited
sand pumping rates are no problem, no
expensive components to lose)
– Lower cost, normally. . .

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Fallacy: Air-lifting Cannot Be Trusted Aquifer Airlift Testing

Air-lifting Advantages (cont.)

• Versatile: anticipated well production does not need to be known
- but it does need to be known for conventional pumping tests
• Suitable for both small diameter (1/2” or less) and large wells
• No practical depth limitation
• Very easy to obtain pumping and non-pumping water level
measurements
• Can produce approximately twice as much water from a given
well diameter
• Practically eliminates casing “storage effects”
• Well suited for conducting in-hole flow meter surveys during
pumping. The results are a testing necessity for in-situ leaching
or mining, and most valuable & powerful in describing aquifers.
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Fallacy: Air-lifting Cannot Be Trusted Aquifer Airlift Testing

Why Fallacies Live On

(“Psychology” Behind Fallacies)
• Webster’s defines:
– Fallacy: a false idea
– Myth: an ill-founded belief held uncritically,
especially by an interested group
• Overcoming human resistance to change is very difficult as one
must admit that he/she has been making mistakes in past
• “It’s not so much the not knowing that contributes to the sum of
human ignorance as it is the knowing so much that ain’t so.”

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Resistance To Change Aquifer Airlift Testing

Experience Shows Projects (Good, Bad & Ugly) Are

Entangled in a Web Technical
(1950’s & 60’s)

Political Legal
(1990s) (1970s)

Dogmatic Beliefs
(2000)

Environmental Economic
(1980s) (1970s)

Timing
(1970s)
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