Hydrogeological Risk and Mining Tunnels: the Fontane-Rodoretto Mine Turin (Italy)
The interaction of tunneling or mining with
groundwater has become a very relevant problem not only due to the
need to guarantee the safety of workers and to assure the efficiency of
the tunnel drainage systems, but also to safeguard water resources
from impoverishment and pollution risk. Therefore it is very
important to forecast the drainage processes (i.e., the evaluation of
drained discharge and drawdown caused by the excavation). The aim
of this study was to know better the system and to quantify the flow
drained from the Fontane mines, located in Val Germanasca (Turin,
Italy). This allowed to understand the hydrogeological local changes
in time. The work has therefore been structured as follows: the
reconstruction of the conceptual model with the geological,
hydrogeological and geological-structural study; the calculation of
the tunnel inflows (through the use of structural methods) and the
comparison with the measured flow rates; the water balance at the
basin scale. In this way it was possible to understand what are the
relationships between rainfall, groundwater level variations and the
effect of the presence of tunnels as a means of draining water.
Subsequently, it the effects produced by the excavation of the mining
tunnels was quantified, through numerical modeling. In particular,
the modeling made it possible to observe the drawdown variation as a
function of number, excavation depth and different mines linings.
[1] A. Dematteis, G. Kalamaras, A. Eusebio, "A systems approach for
evaluating springs drawdown due to tunneling", in "World Tunnel
Congress AITES-ITA" Vol. 1, Patron, pp 257- 264, 2001.
[2] S. Loew, "Groundwater hydraulics and environmental impacts of
tunnels in crystalline rocks", in "Meccanica e Ingegneria delle rocce -
MIR", Torino, Italy, pp 201-217, 2002.
[3] L. Scesi, P. Gattinoni, Water Circulation in Rocks, Springer, 2009, p.
165.
[4] A.W. Harbaugh, E.R. Banta, M.C. Hill, M.G. McDonald, The U.S.
Geological Survey modular ground-water model - User guide to
modularization concepts and the groundwater flow process, Open-file
Report 00-92, USGS, Boulder, Co, 121p., 2000.
[1] A. Dematteis, G. Kalamaras, A. Eusebio, "A systems approach for
evaluating springs drawdown due to tunneling", in "World Tunnel
Congress AITES-ITA" Vol. 1, Patron, pp 257- 264, 2001.
[2] S. Loew, "Groundwater hydraulics and environmental impacts of
tunnels in crystalline rocks", in "Meccanica e Ingegneria delle rocce -
MIR", Torino, Italy, pp 201-217, 2002.
[3] L. Scesi, P. Gattinoni, Water Circulation in Rocks, Springer, 2009, p.
165.
[4] A.W. Harbaugh, E.R. Banta, M.C. Hill, M.G. McDonald, The U.S.
Geological Survey modular ground-water model - User guide to
modularization concepts and the groundwater flow process, Open-file
Report 00-92, USGS, Boulder, Co, 121p., 2000.
@article{"International Journal of Earth, Energy and Environmental Sciences:61208", author = "Paola Gattinoni and Laura Scesi and Elena Cerino Adbin and Daniele Cremonesi", title = "Hydrogeological Risk and Mining Tunnels: the Fontane-Rodoretto Mine Turin (Italy)", abstract = "The interaction of tunneling or mining with
groundwater has become a very relevant problem not only due to the
need to guarantee the safety of workers and to assure the efficiency of
the tunnel drainage systems, but also to safeguard water resources
from impoverishment and pollution risk. Therefore it is very
important to forecast the drainage processes (i.e., the evaluation of
drained discharge and drawdown caused by the excavation). The aim
of this study was to know better the system and to quantify the flow
drained from the Fontane mines, located in Val Germanasca (Turin,
Italy). This allowed to understand the hydrogeological local changes
in time. The work has therefore been structured as follows: the
reconstruction of the conceptual model with the geological,
hydrogeological and geological-structural study; the calculation of
the tunnel inflows (through the use of structural methods) and the
comparison with the measured flow rates; the water balance at the
basin scale. In this way it was possible to understand what are the
relationships between rainfall, groundwater level variations and the
effect of the presence of tunnels as a means of draining water.
Subsequently, it the effects produced by the excavation of the mining
tunnels was quantified, through numerical modeling. In particular,
the modeling made it possible to observe the drawdown variation as a
function of number, excavation depth and different mines linings.", keywords = "Groundwater, Italy, numerical model, tunneling.", volume = "7", number = "1", pages = "44-5", }