The course aims at providing the knowledge and skills in the field of groundwater engineering, at developing the ability to identify groundwater-related problems and solve them with a rigorous, technical approach. In particular, at the end of the course the students are expected to face problems in the field of the characterization of aquifer systems, groundwater flow, contaminant propagation, remediation of contaminated aquifer systems, underground site characterization for carbon storage. In order to develop critical skills and independent judgement capabilities based on the acquired knowledge, and to promote the development of professional communication skills, the students will be asked to prepare short technical reports.

The course is intended for students in the second year of the Master program in Environment and Land Engineering. As a consequence, students are expected to have basic knowledge in chemistry, geology, geomechanics, hydraulics, calculus, and more in general in the fundamental courses of engineering. Students are expected to be experienced users of the Microsoft Office package (in particular, Word, Excel) or alternative text editing and spreadsheet software. Basic knowledge in Matlab programming can be useful.

The topics covered in the course include: - fundamental properties of porous media (aquifer system, deep formations for carbon storage): storage and flow capacity and associated characteristic parameters; Darcy’s law; classification of aquifer systems; piezometric maps (construction and interpretation). - groundwater flow: partial differential equation (PDE) for one-phase flow in porous media. Analytical solutions to the flow PDE for radial geometry (confined, leacky, unconfined aquifers). Hydrodynamic characterization of an aquifer system: well pumping tests, slug tests, indirect methods. Productive capacity and hydraulic efficiency of a pumping well. Optimization of a drinking water supply system. - mobility (rock permeability and fluid viscosity) and fundamental properties of fluid-rock interactions (relative permeabilities, capillary pressures) - fluid flow: partial differential equation (PDE) for two-phase flow in porous media. Analytical solutions to the flow PDE for radial geometry and confined systems. Characterization of underground systems: well tests and lab tests. Well productivity and injectivity. Fundamentals of 3D dynamic modeling. - contaminant transport and attenuation in aquifer systems: chemical, physical and toxicity properties of typical groundwater contaminants. Contaminant transport mechanisms in porous media: advection, hydrodynamic dispersion, sorption, degradation. Solute transport in porous media: partial differential equation and analytical solution for selected scenarios, for reactive and non reactive contaminants. Propagation of immiscible contaminants (non aqueous phase liquids, NAPLs). - Groundwater remediation: Italian law procedures for contaminated site characterization, risk assessment and remediation; comparison with other EU procedures. Techniques for the characterization of a contaminated site. Groundwater remediation technologies: free phase recovery, air sparging, Pump & Treat, permeable reactive barriers and reactive zones.

The course includes classes on the abovementioned topics (60 hours), exercises (18 hours) and a practical activity in the field (approx. 2 hours) if allowed by the sanitary situation. The exercises will cover the following topics: - reconstruction and interpretation of a piezometric map - interpretation of a well pumping test - interpretation of a step well test - exercises on the propagation of tracers and reactive contaminants in aquifer systems (analytical solutions to differential equations for reactive transport in porous media) - application of the risk assessment procedure for contaminated sites - preliminary design of a Pump & Treat barrier - preliminary design of a permeable reactive barrier - assessment of storage capacity for carbon sequestration - design & interpretation of injection tests - risk evaluation for carbon injection and storage The field activity will include groundwater level measurements (and consequent reconstruction of the piezometric map), groundwater sampling and measurement of hydrochemical parameters, and a slug test (and associated interpretation) for the estimation of hydrodynamic parameters.

The course topic are covered in the book R.Sethi, A. Di Molfetta (2019). Groundwater Engineering, Springer ( https://tinyurl.com/yyvw67h7 ) A pdf print of the slides of all lectures will be uploaded in the student portal. Additional material will also be provided on the student portal for further reading on selected topics. On a case by case basis, it will be specified whether the material is compulsory for the final exam. Students can also refer to the following books (which are not compulsory, and cover the same topics included in the abovementioned books and in the course slides): - Fetter C. W. (2014), Applied Hydrogeology. Fourth Edition. Pearson Ed. - P.A. Domenico, F.W. Schwartz, Physical and Chemical Hydrogeology, John Wiley & Sons Inc., New York, Second Edition, 1998. - V.Bathu, Aquifer Hydraulics, John Wiley & Sons Inc., New York 1998.

Exam: Compulsory oral exam; Group essay; Paper-based written test with video surveillance of the teaching staff;

The exam consists in: - a written individual report on the exercises carried out during the course to be submitted at least 5 working days before the written exam. The reports include the results of the exercises and a brief discussion (maximum score 4/30). - a test (written or oral) including short exercises and open questions on theory topics. If the test is written its duration is approximately 1.5 hours. The use of personal notes, books, or any other supporting material is not permitted (maximum score 27/30). Students can take the exam only if the report has been submitted before the exam. The score is attributed taking into account: - The correctness and completeness of the answers with respect to the questions - The ability to elaborate the topics presented and discussed in class for problem-solving - The ability to support the discussion with a correct language and clear form and with graphs (when relevant/required) The final score is calculated as the sum of the written test and the individual report results (so the maximum can be 31/30; scores equal to 30.5 or higher result in 30 cum laude).

Exam: Written test; Compulsory oral exam; Group essay; Paper-based written test with video surveillance of the teaching staff;

The exam consists in: - a written individual report on the exercises carried out during the course to be submitted at least 5 working days before the written exam. The reports include the results of the exercises and a brief discussion (maximum score 4/30). - a test (written or oral) including short exercises and open questions on theory topics. If the test is written its duration is approximately 1.5 hours. The use of personal notes, books, or any other supporting material is not permitted (maximum score 27/30). Students can take the exam only if the report has been submitted before the exam. The score is attributed taking into account: - The correctness and completeness of the answers with respect to the questions - The ability to elaborate the topics presented and discussed in class for problem-solving - The ability to support the discussion with a correct language and clear form and with graphs (when relevant/required) The final score is calculated as the sum of the written test and the individual report results (so the maximum can be 31/30; scores equal to 30.5 or higher result in 30 cum laude).