DYNAMIC OPTIMAL GROUNDWATER RECLAMATION WITH TREATMENT CAPITAL COSTS

A dynamic optimal control algorithm for ground-water remediation was e xtended to incorporate treatment facility capital costs, as a function of the peak operating rate. Our approach to including the capital cos ts of treatment required no additional control variables and only a si ngle additional state variable. Incorporation of the capital costs of the treatment facility had the greatest impact on design when the pump ing policies were changed at intervals of six months or fewer. For lon ger management periods, inclusion of treatment facility capital costs had little effect on the selected optimal policies. This work demonstr ates that capital treatment costs may significantly impact a dynamic m anagement policy and that these capital costs should be explicitly inc orporated into a dynamic management model.