405 Water Flute FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. The typical number of ports that can be installed in a liner are 6, 10, 15, and 20 in hole diameters of 4 inch, 5 inch, 6 inch, and 8 inch respectively.

No, we often install in subsurface vaults. The vault dimensions required are at “Water Flute vault size.”

Subsurface vault to accomodate the Water Flute surface hardware

Minimum dimension of vault:

• D - diameter of the casing
• W - the inside vault width (D + 8 inches)
• L - the stick up of casing above vault floor (minimum 6 inches)
• H - the clearance from casing to underside of vault lide (12 inches)

These are preferred clearances for the 405 Water Flute system. A blank liner requires a Height of at least 4 inches. A drain in the floor of the vault is recommended to prevent water accumulation.

Note: Over 6 transducer calbes requires W = D + 12 inches

The trio is the combination of:

1. the sealing the hole with a blank liner,
2. measuring the flow paths in the entire hole while installing the blank liner, and
3. the subsequent installation of a Water Flute multi-level system in place of the blank liner.

The majority of the Water Flute systems installed are still in use. –some more than 18 years.

Yes The installation is often in a multi screened casing. However, installations through sonic casing have also been done.

To date, our systems have been installed in boreholes as deep at 1400 FT.

1. the liner seals the entire hole instead of discrete packers or grout.
2. the liner is only 20 mils and therefore the entire hole volume is available for the sampling system with its unique characteristics
3. the eversion installation procedure is gentle, supporting of the borehole, and allows removal by inversion of the liner. Those are the primary differences, but there are many more differences depending upon which systems are being compared.

The transducers are installed in the system and do not interfere with either the sampling procedure or the manual water level measurement for each port. Nor does the transducer use limit the number of ports available in a particular hole diameter.

Transducers can also be added at the surface to record long term head measurements using an Air Coupled Transducer (ACT) system.

Yes One can use a slender tag line to measure the head at each port or use a pressure transducer for each port, or both simultaneously, allowing a check of the transducer calibration.

Yes It usually takes a day. Deep wells and many ports may take longer.

No Only Solinst Flute personnel should install or remove a Water Flute or those specifically trained by Solinst Flute.

Typically one to two Water Flutes can be installed in a day. If a short scaffold is needed for a shallow water table and a weighted mud is to be emplaced, the installation may take two days.

No

A compressor, generator and water tank are usually supplied by the customer unless near (<300 mi.) a Solinst Flute office. Solinst Flute offices are in Albuquerque, NM and Warminster, PA. For multiple installations, Solinst Flute may provide all of the equipment at normal rental rates. Any additional special equipment is provided as rented equipment and is sent to the site from Solinst Flute.

Generally a driller’s services are not needed. However, in at least New Jersey, regulations require that a driller be present for a Water Flute installation.

No Solinst Flute does not obtain well permits, variances or other regulatory documentation. That is usually done by a driller or environmental contractor.

The EPA is a major customer of Water Flutes and other Solinst Flute technologies. Water Flutes are in place at many superfund sites.

Yes. See the GWMR journal paper on Water FLUTe use: A New-Depth Discrete Multilevel Monitoring Approach for Fractured Rock

Yes The EPA, NJ DEP, and many other states have approved the use of Water Flute technology. Ask us for examples in your state.

Yes, it protects the entire Water Flute wellhead surface hardware and transducer cables.

Provide Solinst Flute with the site location, hole depths and diameters, number of ports for each hole, and water table (if known) and a detailed quote including labor, rental equipment, travel costs, shipping and Solinst Flute liners will be provided.

Yes, if the artesian head is less than 5 ft above the ground surface. A weighted mud will be needed to obtain the liner pressure required to seal the hole.

A weighted mud (Bentonite and barite slurry) is used to displace the water in the liner, from the bottom up, inside the liner via a tube provided in the tubing bundle. The liner is still removable.

No, but the conductivity profile performed by Solinst Flute using the blank liner is sometimes the primary basis for selection of the sampling intervals for a Water Flute.

Yes

1. Yes
2. Ask for this publication from [email protected].
3. How do Water Flute systems compare to alternative methods? Call us for explicit questions. Also see comparisons for general guidelines in comparison of multi level systems.

Yes They often are, but we prefer more mild weather.

No, Solinst Flute is the sole source and our methods are well patented, but we are interested in potential foreign fabrications sites and the licensing of installers.

Answer a few questions and someone at Solinst Flute can provide you with a comprehensive quote

Yes

Depending upon the fabrication queue, and the fielding schedule, two weeks is usually the minimum time. However the delivery of many liners takes longer for them to all reach the site. They should usually all be installed in one campaign to reduce fielding expenses.

Monitor the water level in the liner. The excess head in the liner is a continuous leak check.

Yes, there are many installations in Canada, Denmark, Sweden and more. Whereas other FLUTe methods are used worldwide

Most contaminants (e.g., TCE) do not affect the liner. Remediation injections of potassium permanganate require the use of a polyester liner instead of a nylon liner. Those are available as a special order.

Solinst Flute liners leach trace levels of toluene (20-70ppb) in the sample water for a short while (e.g., ~3 months on average). Arsenic is also included in the coating to prevent mildew per a military specification. However, arsenic free liners are available at a small additional cost. The standard purge procedure removes most of these compounds.

The sampling interval, defined by the spacer, is isolated from the liner by a diffusion barrier that prevents contact with the ground water at the spacer. The purge process (~2 gallons) further removes any potentially affect water and the sample is usually drawn from more than 10 ft from the liner in fractured rock. The sampling system, since 2002, is entirely of PVDF tubing which is far less absorptive than the typical LDPE tubing used for sampling. In the special case of a very large vertical gradient, the tubing in the sleeves may be nylon which is well purged by the sampling procedure. Nylon is still much less absorptive than LDPE tubing.