Developing an accurate conceptual site model (CSM) is paramount to understanding and interpreting contaminant fate and transport in the subsurface. One of the main reasons that site remediation fails or produces less than optimal outcomes is a reliance on an overly simplified CSM.
Strong CSMs Support Smart Groundwater Remediation
Geosyntec addresses our clients’ toughest challenges, including contaminated media investigations, feasibility studies, and remediation-system designs. CSMs are included for many of our most successful contaminated site assessments and cleanup efforts. CSMs identify data gaps, guide further site characterization, and are primary planning and decision-making tools.
We use CSMs to identify and manage site uncertainty to support site management and remediation decisions. The models that Geosyntec prepares range in size and complexity, and they provide key stakeholders with solid frameworks for understanding specific sites. By using the data , narrative descriptions, and graphic visualizations of various impacts as presented by our CSMs, decision makers are better able to choose a solution that expedites restoration, provides superior results, and minimizes costs during remediation to support site closure.
Developing Objective-Driven CSMs
Geosyntec's CSMs can be either written or visual documents, reports, graphics, or three- and four-dimensional visualizations that represent the conditions and the physical, chemical, and biological processes that control the transport, transformation, and potential impacts of contaminants in soil, air, groundwater, surface water, and sediments. They also help identify human and ecological exposure pathways that could be present at an impacted site.
A CSM developed by Geosyntec practitioners is an iterative tool that generally begins with collecting existing data on impacted sites, including historical maps and records, surveys and data, site-operating records, and aerial photographs. We then organize and analyze known sources of contamination and potential contaminants. Our team identifies potentially contaminated areas and affected media and locates potential migration routes, exposure pathways, and receptors.
Typically, site investigations then begin to confirm our initial data and identify any gaps in the information. An important stage in the development of a CSM is the identification of crucial processes that influence contaminant transport, transformation, and response to remedial treatment. A range of tools, from simplified renderings to more complex visualization tools, are used to capture and communicate existing information and focus future data collection to fill data gaps and reduce key site uncertainties. We update CSMs as projects proceed to a level of detail matching the complexity of site conditions, the availability of data, and closure strategy.
Geosyntec’s CSMs are objective-driven. They are designed to support data-quality objectives, providing defensible data and supporting robust decision-making about cumulative risk, selection and implementation of remedies, and completion and reuse of sites. They also help clients communicate effectively with interested parties about the critical issues or processes identified at the site. Geosyntec practitioners are cognizant of best-practice guidance and adopt practices that meet the specific regulatory frameworks for the preparation and submission of CSMs.
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