Groundwater flow models are assembled within various types of tasks. In most cases, these models deal with water balance in a certain area, be it with regard to the usability of the area for drinking water sources or for the purpose of identifying the presumed abstracted volumes that are necessary for drying the space of opencast and deep mining or line tunnelling. The second aforementioned group of tasks may also include simulations of remediation interventions that consist in the change of the flow pattern in the aquifer concerned (permeable reactive barriers, remediation pumping, hydraulic barriers, etc.).
The second most common type of flow models is the assembly of a flow pattern for the purpose of transport models. These simulations lay emphasis primarily on the most precise representation of flow directions and/or careful calibration of a model to a level criterion.
A specific type of task are models simulating the flow of water through an unsaturated as well as a saturated zone. These tasks are useful for instance in addressing the water infiltration above the level of groundwater (e.g. disposal of rainwater) or for the determination of pore water pressure values in stability calculations…
The need for comprehensive solutions of the overall water balance in an area that would take into account both ground and surface water has recently increased. The so-called “coupled” tasks are able – particularly if properly calibrated for the balance criteria too – to express the water regime in an area far more truly and simulate its behaviour for example in relation to climate changes, incl. extreme drought.