Some groundwater projects have involved geohydrologic assessments, including geologic and hydrologic investigations by means of test borings and wells, geophysical surveys, and chemical tracer surveys, while others have involved the development of ground water basin management plans for the effective use of basin water supplies and the protection of the basin from contamination. Boyle’s staff is also experienced in well design and construction, artificial recharge, and groundwater banking programs.

This is because over 30 percent of the major water use in western basins, irrigation, typically returns to the river as ground water return flow and significantly influence the river call and amount of water available for diversion. By simulating ground water - surface water interactions, the timing and location of return flows can be simulated along with those activities which may impact their fate such as ground water pumping and phreatophyte consumption.

Boyle provides a full range of engineering services in connection with the design, construction, and testing of wells for municipal and industrial supplies.

After careful study of subsurface hydrogeologic conditions, designs are prepared to achieve the optimum combination of yield, performance, and cost. Engineers consider site-specific conditions that affect drilling and final well construction.

A Boyle ground water specialist typically is on-site during the entire construction period to observe drilling and help log subsurface conditions. Careful control of the drilling process, maintenance of correct drilling fluid properties, and diligent logging of subsurface conditions all contribute to the well's success. Once the initial pilot bore is advanced to its full depth, geophysical logs provide Boyle's groundwater specialists with precise information on subsurface conditions. With this information in hand, engineers can prepare final well designs.

After construction, the well is tested and data are collected on hydraulics and specific conditions of operation. This information helps determine proper sizing for the permanent pumping equipment.

Boyle has designed, constructed, and tested wells ranging from 2 inches to over 48 inches in diameter and from less than 40 to over 1,500 feet deep. Yields from the wells range from several gallons to several thousand gallons per minute.

In BESTSM, a river basin is represented as a system of “linked nodes.” Each node or measurement point represents a diversion, a stream gage, a reservoir, a point requiring a minimum in-stream flow, or another location where information is known or needed. The nodes in the system are “linked” by river channels, canals, pipelines, or aqueducts. BESTSM performs all basin accounting and flow routing between the river nodes. The model can easily represent complex networks consisting of multiple stream branches with complex cross-linkages and off-channel facilities.

The services provided in relation to these water rights investigations include engineering and technical support, involvement in settlement negotiations, and expert testimony in depositions and in court. Water rights services have been provided in support of the acquisition and transfer of water rights from ditches and reservoirs, changes of use, exchanges, augmentation plans, and substitute water-supply plans for gravel-pit operations and others. Engineering work performed in relation to these services includes the determination of water availability, conveyance losses, historic crop distributions, on-farm application efficiencies, consumptive use, irrigation and municipal return flows, and stream depletions associated with pumping wells. Boyle engineers are also experienced in record retrieval and analysis.

They range from simple analytical models to complex, finite element models in three dimensions. In every case, Boyle’s ground water specialists find a proper balance between the complexity of the problem and of the model selected to solve it.

Boyle engineers often provide the client with documentation on the model and hands-on training. That way, the client can evaluate future alternatives independently or in consultation with Boyle engineers.

Boyle ground water specialists have developed and implemented models for ground water basins ranging from several hundred square miles to several thousand. These models are developed to simulate a broad range of hydrologic conditions, such as arid, desert-like conditions similar to those of the desert southwest; and wet conditions found in regions with abundant rainfall, lakes and rivers like the southeastern U.S. With access to virtually all state-of-the-art models, Boyle selects the best model for a project and customizes it if necessary.

Some groundwater projects have involved geohydrologic assessments, including geologic and hydrologic investigations by means of test borings and wells, geophysical surveys, and chemical tracer surveys, while others have involved the development of ground water basin management plans for the effective use of basin water supplies and the protection of the basin from contamination. Boyle staff is also experienced in well design and construction, artificial recharge, and groundwater banking programs.

ASR has proven to be a vital link between surface water and groundwater resources in areas where there are large imbalances in timing of water supplies and water demands. ASR offers a means for balancing supply and demand through the coordinated use of surface and groundwater resources (conjunctive use). There are a number of benefits to ASR over conventional surface storage, including:

• Reduced land requirements
• Evaporation losses, which can be significant in surface storage, are avoided
• Water recovered from storage typically requires little or no treatment

ASR can be a controversial issue; therefore, our expertise, sensitivity to government official and public concerns, and interaction with applicable, emerging regulations provide us with the knowledge to implement challenging ASR programs.

As one example, the Windy Gap Project in Colorado identified more than 180 water-storage sites to address their unique needs. We have talented personnel who can help our clients with all types of water-resource issues. We have experience in conducting detailed hydrologic investigations including accessing and utilizing a large volume of data. This includes stream flows, reservoir contents and releases, diversions, ditch characteristics, water rights, rainfall, snowfall, temperature, evaporation, groundwater pumping, and other pertinent data.