Groundwater Assessment and Remediation

Geosyntec’s expertise in efficient site characterization, including sites that exhibit complex groundwater-flow regimes, has distinguished our firm as a leader in groundwater assessment and groundwater remediation. Our practitioners address a broad suite of contaminants, including metals, chlorinated organic chemicals, petroleum hydrocarbons, and emerging contaminants, and use award-winning, technology-based remediation strategies that are often first-to-field. Many of our hydrogeologists specialize in modeling the fate and transport of contaminants through the most difficult types of media, including fractured and karst bedrock.

Groundwater Remediation and Regulation Compliance

Ever-changing regulations often compound the already difficult problem of remediating recalcitrant contaminants in the subsurface. We work closely with our clients to fully understand their challenges and advocate for them as they navigate complex regulatory environments. Our engineers and scientists guide them through every step and develop precise characterization and diagnostic tools that improve their ability to achieve site-specific remedial action objectives within a reasonable time frame using best-value practices.

Innovative and Practical Groundwater Remediation

Once a site has been characterized, we are adept at applying ex situ and in situ remedial technologies, long-term monitoring, and other site management strategies. While we are highly experienced in conventional approaches and technologies, we are also practice leaders in the application of innovative in situ remedial technologies, including the following:

• Bioremediation and bioaugmentation
• Phytoremediation
• Chemical oxidation
• Chemical reduction
• Thermal remediation

Advancing the State of the Practice for Groundwater

Geosyntec partners with leading academic institutions to develop of next-generation characterization and treatment technologies.

Among the technologies currently in development, testing, or analysis by Geosyntec and its subsidiaries are the following:

• Electrokinetic enhanced amendment delivery, an innovative approach that uses electrokinetic mechanisms to enhance the distribution of electron donors, electron acceptors, and bacteria for in situ bioremediation (EK-bio) or oxidants for in situ chemical oxidation (EK-ISCO)
• Self-sustaining Treatment for Active Remediation (STAR), a smoldering combustion technology for the efficient destruction of hydrocarbons such as coal tars and oils using either an ex situ or in situ application
• TreeWells®, which overcome conventional limitations of phytoremediation by targeting groundwater normally inaccessible to plant roots
• Zero-valent metal formulations to treat recalcitrant compounds (e.g., polychlorinated biphenyls, 1,2,3-trichloropropane)
• New microbial consortiums capable of degrading compounds such as carbon tetrachloride and 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethene (TeCA)
• Three-dimensional visualization software applications that aid in the assessment of dense non-aqueous phase liquids (DNAPL) and other groundwater impacts

We have developed comprehensive guidance to effectively manage contaminated groundwater, to conduct environmental investigations, and to address environmental impacts. Our guidance is used by regulatory agencies in the United States and Europe, including the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, the Danish Environmental Protection Agency, the US Department of Defense (DoD), the National Research Council (NRC), the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), the American Petroleum Institute (API), and the Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council (IRTC).