Patent ID: 7546877

Claim:
A process for hydrofracturing water-bearing intervals or zones in an underground aquifer from a water well borehole with a drill stem suspended therein, the process increasing water flow production from a water well, the process steps comprising: using geophysical well log data compared with borehole cuttings from the borehole for selecting first and second water-bearing intervals in the borehole and determining the depth of the intervals and the approximate width of each intervals, the well log data including geophysical logging of the borehole; lowering a hydrofracture tool connected to a bottom of the drill stem to a lowest, first interval in the borehole, the tool including a pipe section with a plurality of ports disposed around the pipe section and a pair of inflatable packers attached to opposite ends of the pipe section, a length of the pipe section approximately the width of the interval; inflating the inflatable packers for sealing an area around the pipe section and the borehole next to the pipe section; introducing high-pressure water in a range of 300 to 1000 psi through the drill stem and out the ports in the pipe section for fracturing the surrounding first interval; introducing gravel proppants slowly into the high-pressure water and forcing the proppants into the fractured first interval; terminating the high-pressure water and gravel proppants to the first interval when the pressure of the high-pressure water increases and the volume of water introduced in the first interval decreases; deflating the inflatable packers and moving the tool upwardly in the borehole to the next lowest, second interval and positioning the pipe section next to the second interval and repeating the introduction of high-pressure water and gravel proppants in the second interval; terminating the high-pressure water and gravel proppants to the second interval when the pressure of the high-pressure water increased and the volume of water introduced in the second interval decreases; and completing the water well using well casing and water screens next to the fractured first and second intervals in the borehole.