Rick Devlin kicked-off the Symposium with a presentation that stressed the importance of groundwater velocity measurements, especially for contaminant hydrogeology. Through case study examples, Rick showed that measuring velocity is essential in determining the fate and transport of contaminants, which in turn, helps focus remediation efforts in the right direction. Traditional velocity estimates are based… Continue Reading »
The theme of this year’s Symposium was “Enhanced Monitoring and Remedial Methods for Contaminated Groundwater”. It became clear that enhancing monitoring and remedial approaches involves recognizing “uncertainty” as a factor in all contaminated site assessments. It was put forth that heterogeneity in the subsurface affects the level of uncertainty in any groundwater study – when… Continue Reading »
Beth Parker provided attendees with a glimpse of the extensive research she has been spearheading for the past 20 years. Her work is focused on developing the “Discrete Fracture Network (DFN) Field Approach for Investigating Contaminated Sites in Fractured Sedimentary Rock”. Understanding how groundwater flows and chemicals migrate in these networks requires a unique approach… Continue Reading »
Richard Jackson delivered a very interesting presentation on the need for accurate and complete site conceptual models when dealing with contaminated sites. Richard used four unique case studies to illustrate how important it is to “get it right”. Getting the model right, allows the right decisions to be made – especially when it comes to… Continue Reading »
In a town in the Piedmont physiographic province, in the mid Atlantic, a proposed water supply well was contaminated with methyl tert butyl ether (MTBE). The well is located down gradient of several gas service stations with multiple known sources of MTBE. As such, a remedial effort was required by Virginia Department of Environmental Quality… Continue Reading »
The symposium continued with a presentation by Murray Einarson, with AMEC Geomatrix. His presentation was a great follow-up to Dave Rudolph’s, as it presented methods to obtain the valuable data required, particularly in groundwater assessments. Murray provided an overview of the types and scales of measurements that are important during subsurface assessments and new approaches and technologies… Continue Reading »
Solinst provides high quality groundwater instruments that can be used in every phase of a contaminated site clean-up. From the initial site investigation, to further characterization, and finally site remediation, a combination of sampling and monitoring tools are available for each stage of the process. Our Drive-Point Piezometers provide an easy, minimal disturbance approach to the… Continue Reading »
Vertex Environmental Inc., located in Cambridge, Ontario, specializes in the in-situ remediation of contaminated groundwater. In 2007 they were contracted to clean up a former gas station site in Guelph, Ontario. The contaminant plume containing gasoline and diesel occurs in unconsolidated silty sand to a depth of approximately 3 m (10 ft). The initial plume… Continue Reading »
Certified CMT Installer Michael Early, of ZEBRA Environmental, Tampa, a company specializing in direct push sampling and probing services to consulting firms, recently installed three multilevel groundwater monitoring systems in Pinellas County, Florida. The purpose of this phase of their study is to assess the possible extent of chlorinated solvents in shallow sandy sediments at each site…. Continue Reading »
White Young Green Environmental Limited (WYG) is an experienced environmental consulting firm operating in the United Kingdom. WYG was given the task of developing a cost effective means to isolate and reliably sample groundwater quality, and obtain hydraulic head data from various zones, in a complex geological setting, to give detailed vertical gradients. The investigation… Continue Reading »
