USGS Science⌕ Search
Home/Archive/USGS

USGS · 70200425

Estimating cleanup times for groundwater contamination remediation strategies

Gary Miner·Mark A. Widdowson·Eduardo Mendez·Francis H. Chapelle
View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

This article presents the Natural Attenuation Software (NAS), available as a free download from Virginia Polytechnic University, which can help remedial project managers and their contractors estimate the time of groundwater remediation through consideration of such natural attenuation processes as advection, dispersion, sorption, source zone depletion, and biodegradation. NAS consists of a combination of computational tools implemented in three main interactive modules. The article discusses testing and evaluation of NAS along with expected benefits of the software tool.

Explore related subjects

Journal - American Water Works AssociationArticle

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Gary Miner, Mark A. Widdowson, Eduardo Mendez, Francis H. Chapelle. 2007. Estimating cleanup times for groundwater contamination remediation strategies. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1551-8833.2007.tb07886.x

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related USGS reports

USGS2018

Modeled de facto reuse and contaminants of emerging concern in drinking water source waters

De facto reuse is the percentage of drinking water treatment plant (DWTP) intake potentially composed of effluent discharged from upstream wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Results from grab samples and a De Facto Reuse in our Nation's Consumable Supply (DRINCS) geospatial watershed model were used to quantify contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) concentrations at DWTP intakes to qualitatively compare exposure risks obtained by the two approaches. Between nine and 71 CECs were detected in grab samples. The number of upstream WWTP discharges ranged from 0 to >1,000; comparative de facto reuse results from DRINCS ranged from <0.1 to 13% during average flow and >80% during lower streamflows. Correlation between chemicals detected and DRINCS modeling results were observed, particularly DWTPs withdrawing from midsize water bodies. This comparison advances the utility of DRINCS to identify locations of DWTPs for future CEC sampling and treatment technology testing.

Journal - American Water Works Association↗
USGS2013

Stainless-steel wires exclude gulls from a wastewater treatment plant

There is growing concern about the prevalence of pathogens and antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the environment and the role wildlife plays in their transmission and dissemination. Gulls feeding at wastewater treatment plants may provide a route for transmission of pathogens and bacteria to public water supplies or other critical areas. The authors identified gulls routinely feeding at a wastewater treatment plant in Millbury, Mass., and tested the effectiveness of overhead stainless-steel wires in excluding gulls from the plant. The number of gulls in certainstructures was compared before and after wiring and during an experimental approach using simultaneous treatments and controls. Stainless-steel wires spaced at 0.9-3.3 m (3-10 ft) effectively prevented gulls from using treatment structures (p < 0.0001) and were effective for > 24 months. Materials costs to wire all structures was about $5,700, and labor costs were $4,020. Overhead stainless-steel wires can provide a long-term, cost-efficient method of excluding ring-billed gulls from wastewater treatment plants.

Massachusetts↗
USGS2007

DOM in recharge waters of the Santa Ana River Basin

Assessment of the composition, reactivity, and potential health effects of dissolved organic matter (DOM) is an important issue in the regulation and operation of groundwater recharge projects. The composition of DOM in various natural surface waters and reclaimed waters used to recharge the alluvial aquifers of the lower Santa Ana River Basin in California was derived primarily from terpenoid hydrocarbons and amino sugars. Lesser amounts of aromatic sulfonate and alkylphenol polyethoxylate metabolites of anionic and neutral surfactants were detected in reclaimed water, and these metabolites persisted in waters of the Santa Ana River, the Prado Wetland, and the recharge basins. Only small amounts of humic substances derived from tannins and lignins were deposited during storm flow periods in the Prado Wetland, but these amounts were responsible for significant increases in disinfection by-product formation potential in these waters. Colloids composed of bacterial cell wall fragments showed large percentage increases in all waters during storm flow periods.

California↗