Age, insufficient upkeep, and environmental conditions can all impact the long-term performance and effectiveness of a groundwater extraction system. When a pump and treat remedy fails to meet milestones toward site closure, it is time to reassess equipment and maintenance to ensure a system is working effectively to resolve all current environmental concerns.
At the time your facility was constructed, it’s likely groundwater extraction was the best available solution for your site’s conditions. Regardless, pump and treat systems are by nature prone to problems such as accumulation and line fouling that can damage and disable components over time. Hydraulic capture and treatment efficiencies may decline. Changing environmental conditions like flooding can also impact the effectiveness of these systems. Additionally, emerging contaminants that weren’t previously identified may need to be addressed. If your facility wasn’t designed to deal with them, you risk compliance issues if they are found to be present.
Much can be done to bring an existing system up to speed, improving hydraulic capture and addressing additional contaminants. As treatment technology has advanced, there may even be better alternatives available for sites at which pump and treat systems have been installed. Where applicable, an in-situ remedy may be a more time- and cost-effective option than upgrading and maintaining an existing groundwater extraction system. The best way to find out is to embark on a facility optimization program.
With a deep bench of environmental, water, and operations experts, Woodard & Curran is uniquely qualified to help you assess, optimize, and upgrade existing facilities to move toward site closure. We have experience with a range of systems, industries, alternative remedies, process automation, informational dashboards, and regulatory parameters and would love the opportunity to talk to you about optimizing your facility.
