Pumped-storage hydroelectric power plant in the Jurassic karst aquifer of the swabian alb, Germany

Extensive geological and hydrogeological investigations have been undertaken for the planned pumped-storage hydroelectric power plant in "Blautal" (Swabian Alb, Germany) in order to characterise the Jurassic karst aquifer in which the lower reservoir will be constructed. The preferred option for the plant setup is to integrate the lower reservoir into the groundwater without sealing. Therefore, in order to reliably predict the impact of the pumped storage plant operations on the surrounding drinking water wells and groundwater dependent ecosystems, a comprehensive database has been developed to assess the hydraulic conditions of the karst aquifer. A large scale geological site investigation was carried out to characterise the rock mass and extensive hydraulic tests were performed in many boreholes. The results of the hydraulic characterisation were then implemented in a three dimensional flow model. In this paper, the first results of the geological and hydrogeological investigations are presented and discussed.