RAPID: Monitoring and modeling the transport of contaminated water from sinkhole in Mulberry, Florida

RAPID：监测和模拟佛罗里达州桑洞污水坑的污染水输送情况

• 批准号: 1665343
• 负责人: Dingbao Wang
• 金额: $ 19.99万
• 依托单位: The University of Central Florida Board of Trustees
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2016-12-15 至 2018-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1665343&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: RAPID; Monitoring; modeling; transport; contaminated

1665343WangOn August 27, 2016, a decline of the water level in a process water (wastewater) holding pond was observed at a fertilizer plant in Polk County, Florida. It was determined that the declining water level was due to a sinkhole formed under the pond, which resulted in the liner rupturing. The opening of the sinkhole was approximately 45 feet in diameter and the depth of the sinkhole reached the Upper Floridan aquifer. As a result of the sinkhole, approximately 980 million liters (260 million gallons) of contaminated radioactive water was drained into the Floridan aquifer. A contaminant transport model that incorporates an innovative tracer will be developed for this karst (calcium carbonate) aquifer system to characterize the spatial and temporal distribution of the contaminants.The goals of the project are to assess: 1) what is the spatial and temporal distribution of the contaminated, radioactive processed water, that was discharged into the aquifer, 2) what is the impact to the environment and local community drinking water supplies, 3) how can the impacts of this hazard be minimized through optimal measures such as pumping or treatment, and, 4) what recommendations can be developed for the sinkhole site for purposes of remediation and repair. To achieve the goals the team will take water samples, at time intervals, from groundwater wells and surface water. These samples will be analyzed for constituents and parameters that are indicative of the released contaminated water. The site will be characterized by, but not limited to, hydrogeological data, satellite images, and, existing geotechnical data. The proposed project addresses the potential impact of the release on the public water supply and environment with a focus on monitoring and modeling contaminant transport in the karst aquifer systems. Although the process of contaminant transport in aquifers has been investigated in great detail, little is known about the effect of a large amount of contaminated water released into the karst aquifer in a short time period through a sinkhole. Groundwater is essential to the health and economic welfare of west central Florida, as 90 percent of the population in central Florida relies on groundwater resources for their drinking water supply. Pollution of groundwater by direct recharge through sinkholes thus presents a major threat to west central Florida drinking water supplies, impacting the environment and local economies. Understanding the fate and transport of contaminated water through the sinkhole is prerequisite for quantifying the impacts on water supply and receiving water bodies prior to the design and implementation of remediation procedures. The project will also contribute to the education and training of two graduate and two undergraduate students who will participate in the field work of water sampling and sinkhole site characterization, lab analyses of water samples, and developing a groundwater model for simulating the transport of contaminated radioactive water.

1665343王2016年8月27日，在佛罗里达波尔克县的一家化肥厂，观察到工艺水（废水）容纳池的水位下降。经确定，水位下降是由于池塘下形成的天坑，导致内衬破裂。天坑的开口直径约为45英尺，天坑的深度达到了上弗洛里丹含水层。由于这个天坑，大约9.8亿升（2.6亿加仑）受污染的放射性水被排入佛罗里达含水层。一个污染物传输模型，包括一个创新的示踪剂将开发这个岩溶（碳酸钙）含水层系统，以确定污染物的空间和时间分布特征。1）排入含水层的受污染的放射性处理水的时空分布情况如何，2）对环境和当地社区饮用水供应的影响，3）如何通过抽水或处理等最佳措施将这种危害的影响降到最低，以及4）为补救和修复目的，可以为天坑场地提出哪些建议。为了实现这些目标，该小组将定期从地下水威尔斯井和地表水中采集水样。将对这些样品进行分析，以确定指示释放的污染水的成分和参数。该场地的特征将包括但不限于水文地质数据、卫星图像和现有的岩土工程数据。拟议的项目涉及释放对公共供水和环境的潜在影响，重点是监测和模拟岩溶含水层系统中的污染物迁移。虽然污染物在含水层中的迁移过程已被研究得非常详细，但对大量污染水通过灰岩坑在短时间内释放到岩溶含水层中的影响知之甚少。地下水对佛罗里达中西部的健康和经济福利至关重要，因为佛罗里达中部90%的人口依赖地下水资源供应饮用水。因此，通过天坑直接补给的地下水污染对佛罗里达中西部的饮用水供应构成了重大威胁，影响了环境和当地经济。在设计和实施补救程序之前，了解污水通过天坑的命运和运输是量化对供水和受纳水体影响的先决条件。该项目还将促进对两名研究生和两名本科生的教育和培训，他们将参加水取样和天坑场地定性、水样品实验室分析的实地工作，并开发模拟受污染放射性水运输的地下水模型。