Ostrava (Czech Republic; NUTSII: CZ08)
Area: 8 hectares, near the city center, in the middle of industrial region Suspected sources of groundwater pollution: several, exact number unknown
Ostrava, the administrative and industrial centre of the region North Moravia, is located in north-eastern Czech Republic near to the Polish and Slovak borders. In terms of 320.000 population, Ostrava is the Czech Republic's third city, and in terms of total area 214 km2 it is second city. The settlement started to develop quickly in the 18th century, when high quality black coal deposits were discovered, and the fastest industrial and population growth occurred in the 20th century.
The project area - Chemical part of coking plant - is situated in the northern part of so-called ?Lower Area? V?tkovice company. As a result of historical development, coking plant is nowadays situated in Ostravian city centre. Coking plant started to be gradually discontinued in 1995 as a result of introducing ecological operation in V?TKOVICE, comp. Continuous coke production was closed in a locality with the oldest recorded existence of coke-ovens since 1831. Some plants of coke-chemistry operations have partly remained filled with toxic and explosive substances. From 2001 to 2002 overhead and underground coke-chemical components were removed.
The main problem in the locality is ground water contamination. In the area of coke-chemistry surface extent of massive contamination with free phase substances DNAPL (originated in black coal tar) in gravel of Ostravice valley terrace have been verified and places with their biggest accumulation have been defined. These places refer to depressions (reducing) in gravel collector subsoil, i.e. in impermeable tertiary clays where the phase was transported thanks to gravity movement. The area suffering from phase of organic substances which contamination is without doubt over limits covers most of the interest locality. Except the area the focal point of phenol, benzo(a)pyren, benzene, non-polar extractive substances, ammonia ions and naphthalene have been analytically verified. Some polluters are still unknown.
On the basis of a data collection and additional field studies a hydrogeological and numerical model in the project area will be compiled to characterise the groundwater situation and to identify the most serious polluters and their transport paths.
Progress of investigation ? Workpackage WP 1
1. Data collection and the compilation
The investigations of soil and groundwater contamination of the interested area were started in 1991 in consequence with the cooking process decrement and its gradual closure.
Up to1999 the investigation activities were focused to the particular parts of the Lower area of former Cooking Plant. From this reason the submitted investigations did not provide the comprehensive delineation of contamination in the area of the chemical part of the former Cooking Plant.
In the next period the intensive investigation activities were realized in the neighbourhood of the Pilot Site area and consisted of unsaturated and saturated zones survey identifying the primary sources of contamination.
The evaluation of potential health and environmental risks for the surface water of the Ostravice River are still not satisfactorily explained issues.
The first aim of the planning of the investigation and the planning of MAGIC approach application is the recapitulation of available information about an area of interest, the summary of former and up to date investigation results and other activities in the site connected with specification of pollution of a wider area and the final compilation of these data to the unified system.
2.1 Compilation of a GIS Database of groundwater
For needs of the recapitulation and the data compilation of previously submitted investigation activities in the area of interest the following sources were applied:
- The Czech Geological Survey ? Geofond (an organizational body of the state, funded by the Department of Environment for the purposes of an assembly and an offer of data about geological construction of areas, about a protection and an utilization of natural raw materials sources and sources of groundwater, and data about risks resulting from geological conditions);
- The SEZ Database (The System of the environmental liabilities evidence). The database collects on the GIS platform data of the brownfields, environmental liabilities in the industrial areas, landfills etc.);
- The Archive of the corporation V?TKOVICE Inc..
- The internal archive of company AZGEO Ltd.
The set of data was compiled on the GIS platform and it includes information about the area of interest from the period of 1985 to 2005.
The Database incorporates following parts:
- geological Documentation of Wells (more than 80 wells)
- the wells geodetic coordinates,
- the list of the properties owners,
- the laboratory analyses of soils and groundwater, (more than 150 analyses)
- the hydrodynamic parameters of aquifer,
- the links to the internet servers with GIS databases opened to the public,
- the interpretative maps with geological profiles, maps of groundwater hydroisohypse, contamination maps etc.
The Geographical Informational Database (GIS) was developed in the frame of Workpackages 4 and 5 to enhance its utilization for the purposes of administrative authority (Municipality of Ostrava, The Moravian Silesian Region, Czech Inspectorate of Environment).
The database is opened to further data from current and future investigation.
The geological data are maintained and structured using Microsoft Access Databases Software. The special database GD Base is applied for geological documentation of drilling works. The exported data are visualized by Geographical Informational System ArcView (ESRI Inc.).
During the first phase of GIS compilation the data (especially geographical and geological data) of 780 informational subjects of broader area (approx. 5 x 6 km2) were collected. The area of recapitulation was diminished to the area of 1,6 x 1,2 km2 (approximately) and information was received about 180 subjects, the wells above all. After the terrain reconnaissance of existing monitoring wells the part of wells were excluded for the further investigation and monitoring purposes during the third part of GIS compilation. Finally 80 subjects represent the frame of database.
Picture No.1 Preliminary reconstruction of dissolved pollutants (according to the historical investigations data 2003) 
Picture No.2: Preliminary reconstruction of DNAPL?s thickness (according to the historical investigations data 2003)
2. Survey of Wells and Monitoring Points
About 40 monitoring wells were checked in the frame of introductory survey of wells which were chosen as the monitoring wells appropriate for project MAGIC purposes. The aim of introductory survey was to check the accessibility and technical state of the wells, the groundwater level, the thickness of DNAPL and LNAPL?s in the wells etc.
On the basis of introductory survey about 20 wells were chosen for preliminary groundwater sampling. The received data were compiled to the Database and were used for following phase of investigation activities planning.
Picture No.3: The First Sampling Campaign Scheme 
3. The First Sampling Campaig
The goal of the first sampling campaign was to verify the actual contaminations distribution in investigated area for the purposes of localization of planned wells for Integral Pumping Tests. During the first sampling campaign 27 samples were collected from 20 monitoring wells.
To evaluate the current trends of groundwater contamination the results of analyses of primary pollutants were interpreted to the maps of an area pollutants distribution using Surfer (Golden Software Inc.). These maps together with conceptual hydrogeological model of the area of interest represent the basic keystone for the new proposed investigation and deciding of testing wells localization.
Picture No.4: The general interpretative map of groundwater contamination 
4. Conceptual hydrogeological model
The hydrogeological aquifer in the area of interest is built mainly by fluvial sandy gravels and loamy gravels with the average thickness of 4,5 m. The base level of gravel aquifer falls from 2 m up to 5 m under water surface of the Ostravice River. The permeability of intrinsic porous aquifer is characterized by a permeability coefficient. Its value is changing according to lithology from 10-4 to 10-3 m.s-1. The value of coefficient of transmissibility is low and is varying from n.10-5 to n.10-4 m2.s-1.
The underlying beds under the Quaternary sandy gravel aquifer consist of clayey limestone (Lower Baden, Miocene) of a limited permeability. These beds comprise of impermeable and insulating layers with thickness of tens up to hundreds of meters. The hydraulic conductivity is expressed by the permeability coefficient in a range of n.10-9 - n.10-11 m.s-1.
On the top of the sandy gravel aquifer the layers represented by loams and swamps are developed. The development of these insulating layers is discontinuous as the result of an industrial activity at the site. Permeability of loamy sediments is low and is changing from n.10-7 to n.10-9 m.s-1, so the layers keep the water recharging of underlying beds via intensive down infiltration.
Miscellaneous material of an embankment (represented by concretes, building materials, etc.) builds the topic layer of the local geological profile. With respect to high heterogeneity of material the composition of an upper horizon is more permeable than underlying fluvial loams and a perched groundwater body was developed in places of fluvial loams layers absence. In the places, where this body lies immediately on permeable incoherent sediments represented by sandy gravels, the communication between upper and lower mutual connected aquifers is not limited.
The aquifer is fed predominantly by an overflow from the main terrace via infiltration from the Ostravice River in periods of high water conditions, eventually directly via rainfall infiltration in places of fluvial loams absence. The described hydrogeological system involves practically all forms of groundwater recharging and movement in the area of interest (the area of the prepared numerical model): a catchment infiltration area, a drainage area and a flow area in parts of confined groundwater level.
The general groundwater flow direction is in accordance with underlying beds inclination from the West to the East accompanied by frequent but small deviations connected with the places of insulating loam layers absence where the upper and lower aquifers are coupling.
5. Design of immission pumping tests and monitoring wells network extension
The interpretation of research background information of the site followed by the introductory survey of subsistent monitoring wells and interpretation of the preliminary groundwater sampling campaign were the principal basis to design the network of wells for integral pumping test and supplemented monitoring wells network in the area of interest.
The mentioned activities submitted in the frame of Workpackage No. 1 enabled to prepare attentively the proposals for the field and laboratory investigation planned as a part of Workpackage No.2.
As the result of comprehensive and complex basic information and planning activities in V?tkovice Site the proposal for drilling works implementation to extend the wells network was done.
The supplemented wells network consists of followings:
- Seven hydrogeological wells for integral pumping test implementation (labelled as HJ-1, HJ-2, HJ-3, HJ-4, HJ-5, HJ-6 and HJ-7)
- Eight monitoring wells for the Quaternary aquifer investigation (labelled as HJ-8, HJ-9, HJ-10, HJ-11, HJ-12, HJ-13, HJ-14 and HJ-15)
- Two monitoring wells for a perched groundwater body investigation (labelled as HJ-4/2 and HJ-6/2)
Picture No.5: Geological Cross Section through IPT wells 
Picture No.6: Design of IPT and monitoring wells extension