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Summary: Characterization of fractured rock aquifers often requires the acquisition and analysis of diverse datasets obtained from various instrumentation configurations. In this investigation at the fractured rock research site in Floyd County, Virginia, a high-precision borehole extensometer and tiltmeter were used during pumping to monitor deformation in the vicinity of fractures identified from borehole logging. Strain data obtained from earth tide analyses were used with the extensometer and tiltmeter data to quantify hydromechanical properties, including fracture volumetric specific storage, porosity, Poisson’s ratio, the drained formation elastic modulus, and the effective dip direction of the fracture. Borehole tiltmeter data were used to estimate deformation caused by an aquifer test consisting of three pumping and recovery periods performed in well EX-1. During each period of the aquifer test the extensometer, located in W-03 and 27.7m from the pumping well, was anchored over 2-m-long sections of (1) a fracture in hydraulic communication with EX-1, (2) a fracture that is not hydraulically connected with EX-1, and (3) an unfractured portion of bedrock directly above the hydraulically connected fracture. Results from the pumping tests yielded compressibilities of 1.3×10−11 Pa−1, and 1.7×10−11 Pa−1 for the lower and upper fractures, respectively. When coupled with areal strain calculated from earth tide analyses the volumetric specific storage values are 3.2×10−11 Pa−1, and 2.8×10−11 Pa−1 and the Poisson’s ratios are 0.26 and 0.31, respectively. Using this with a calculated barometric efficiency of 0.45 allows for porosity calculations of 0.02 and 0.03, respectively for the vicinity of fractures in well W-03. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reverse water-level fluctuations have been widely observed in aquitards or aquifers separated from a pumped confined aquifer (Noordbergum effect) immediately after the initiation of pumping. This same reverse fluctuation has been observed in a fractured crystalline-rock aquifer at the Coles Hill uranium site in Virginia in which the reverse water-level response occurs within a pumped fracture and results from an instantaneous strain response to pumping that precedes the pore-pressure response in observation wells of sufficient distance from the pumped well. This response is referred to as the Mandel-Cryer effect. The unique aspect of this water level rise during a controlled 24 h pumping test was that the reverse water levels lasted for approximately 100 min and reached a magnitude of nearly 1 cm prior to a typical drawdown response. The duration and magnitude of the response reflects the poromechanical properties of the fractured host rock and hydraulic properties of the pumped fracture. An axisymmetric flow and deformation model were developed using Biot2 in an effort to simulate the observed water-level response along an assumed 0.5 to 1.0 cm aperture horizontal fracture 176 m from the pumping well and to identify the importance of the poroelastic effect. Results indicate that traditional aquifer-testing methods that ignore the poromechanical response are not significantly different than results that include the response. However, the poroelastic effect allows for more accurate and efficient parameter calibration., (© 2013, National Ground Water Association.)

Identifying fracture pathways and connectivity between adjacent wells is vital for understanding flow characteristics, transport properties, and fracture characteristics. In this investigation, a simple, straightforward methodology is presented for assessing hydrofracing success and identifying possible fracture connectivity between neighboring boreholes, using water-level barometric response and tide signatures of individual fractures in a crystalline-rock setting. Water levels and barometric pressure heads were collected at two wells 27 m apart both prior to, and after, hydrofracing one of the wells at the fractured-rock research site in Floyd County, Virginia. Vastly different barometric and tidal signatures existed at the two wells prior to hydrofracing as well EX-1 had no discernable fractures, while W-03 was connected to an identified fault-zone aquifer and produced a notable water-level earth tide and barometric signatures. After hydrofracing EX-1, new fractures were induced and the resulting water-level tidal signature and barometric efficiencies were nearly identical to the W-03 well. Aquifer testing conducted from both wells verified this connectivity along the fault-zone aquifer. The small phase difference between the tidal responses in the two wells can be accounted for by the calculated differences in transmissivity and casing diameter., (Copyright © 2010 The Author(s). Journal compilation © 2010 National Ground Water Association.)