Starting the groundwater monitoring campaign at the research test site in Pirna

Our institute is located in a pitoresque area right on the banks of river Elbe, at about 25 km SE of Dresden. A large green area stretching from the main institute building to the right river bank offers an excellent opportunity for hydrogeological applications at test-field scale. The area was used in the past by the Institute of Groundwater Management (IGW) for application and development of field exploration techniques. Among others, Dietze and Dietrich (2012) investigated the advantages of Direct-Push Injection Logging and Direct-Push Slug Tests for vertical characterisation of sediments. Within the framework of INOWAS project, the test-field “Pirna” will be used for deep and surface infiltration tests. Together with our IGW colleagues we started the evaluation of various scenarios by collecting and processing available data and information about the site, including piezometric levels measured at the location over the past several years in ten 1-inch-diameter observation wells. Further, we plan using the data from previous investigations for building a geological model from the available soil profiles and then construct a numerical model for the evaluation of the impact of river Elbe on the groundwater levels at the study area.

Today Thomas identified and marked the location of all observations wells and collected the first piezometric levels. We plan to collect data on a daily basis, which will then correlate with the water levels measured on the river.