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SOP-012 Standard Operating Procedure <br />Aquifer Testing Page 1 of 18 <br />REVISION NO. 0 <br />March 2020 <br /> <br />Sharpe Army Depot <br /> <br /> Purpose <br />This Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) establishes guidelines and procedures for conducting aquifer testing. Proper testing guidelines and procedures are necessary to ensure effective evaluation of aquifer parameters and characteristics. Additional specific aquifer testing procedures and requirements will be provided in the project work plans. <br /> Definitions <br />Aquifer Testing - Refers to physical testing methods used to determine the hydrologic characteristics of confined or unconfined aquifers. Slug, specific capacity, step-drawdown, and constant rate pumping tests are commonly used testing methods. Slug tests are conducted by instantaneously changing the water level in a well by adding, removing, or displacing a known volume of water and then monitoring the water level recovery in the well. <br /> <br />Specific capacity tests are short-term single-well pumping tests that are useful in highly transmissive units which preclude slug testing. The method consists of measuring the stabilized drawdown in the well while pumping at a constant discharge. Specific capacity tests can be conducted immediately after well development, using the development pump. While less accurate than long-term multi-well pumping tests, the specific capacity calculation provides an efficient method that allows for estimating hydraulic conductivity and transmissivity. <br /> <br />Step-drawdown tests are used to estimate well performance, determine a sustainable optimum pumping rate for the well, and estimate aquifer properties well loss and well efficiency. The test is conducted by pumping the well at several successively higher rates and measuring the corresponding water level drawdown. <br /> <br />Constant rate pumping test method involves discharging water at a constant rate from a well by pumping and monitoring the corresponding water level drawdown. This is the most commonly used pumping test method for obtaining estimates of aquifer properties. The recovery of water levels in the well may also be monitored after pumping has terminated (recovery test). Water level monitoring during a pumping and recovery test commonly includes the pumping well and one or more nearby observation wells. In certain instances,