MAROS: a decision support system for optimizing monitoring plans

The Monitoring and Remediation Optimization System (MAROS), a decision-support software, was developed to assist in formulating cost-effective ground water long-term monitoring plans. MAROS optimizes an existing ground water monitoring program using both temporal and spatial data analyses to determine the general monitoring system category and the locations and frequency of sampling for future compliance monitoring at the site. The objective of the MAROS optimization is to minimize monitoring locations in the sampling network and reduce sampling frequency without significant loss of information, ensuring adequate future characterization of the contaminant plume. The interpretive trend analysis approach recommends the general monitoring system category for a site based on plume stability and site-specific hydrogeologic information. Plume stability is characterized using primary lines of evidence (i.e., Mann-Kendall analysis and linear regression analysis) based on concentration trends, and secondary lines of evidence based on modeling results and empirical data. The sampling optimization approach, consisting of a two-dimensional spatial sampling reduction method (Delaunay method) and a temporal sampling analysis method (Modified CES method), provides detailed sampling location and frequency results. The Delaunay method is designed to identify and eliminate redundant sampling locations without causing significant information loss in characterizing the plume. The Modified CES method determines the optimal sampling frequency for a sampling location based on the direction, magnitude, and uncertainty in its concentration trend. MAROS addresses a variety of ground water contaminants (fuels, solvents, and metals), allows import of various data formats, and is designed for continual modification of long-term monitoring plans as the plume or site conditions change over time.     

Screened Auger Sampling: The Technique and Two Case Studies

The screened auger is a laser-slotted, hollow-stem auger through which a representative sample of ground water is pumped from an aquifer and tested for water-quality parameters by appropriate field-screening methods. Screened auger sampling can be applied to ground water quality remedial investigations, providing:(1) a mechanism for determining a monitoring well's optimal screen placement in a contaminant plume; and (2) data to define the three-dimensional configuration of the contaminant plume.
Screened auger sampling has provided an efficient method for investigating hexavalent chromium and volatile organic compound contamination in two sandy aquifers in Cadillac, Michigan. The aquifers approach 200 feet in thickness and more than 1 square mile in area. A series of screened auger borings and monitoring wells was installed, and ground water was collected at 10-foot intervals as the boreholes were advanced to define the horizontal and vertical distribution of the contaminant plumes. The ability of the screened auger to obtain representative ground water samples was supported by the statistical comparison of field screening results and subsequent laboratory analysis of ground water from installed monitoring wells.     

Cone Penetrometer Tests and HydroPunch® Sampling: A Screening Technique for Plume Definition

Cone penetrometer tests and HydroPunch® sampling were used to define the extent of volatile organic compounds in ground water. The investigation indicated that the combination of these techniques is effective for obtaining ground water samples for preliminary plume definition. HydroPunch samples can be collected in unconsolidated sediments and the analytical results obtained from these samples are comparable to those obtained from adjacent monitoring wells. This sampling method is a rapid and cost-effective screening technique for characterizing the extent of contaminant plumes in soft sediment environments. Use of this screening technique allowed monitoring wells to be located at the plume boundary, thereby reducing the number of wells installed and the overall cost of the plume definition program.     

Techniques and Equipment Used in Contaminant Detection at Hoe Creek Underground Coal Gasification Experimental Site

Data from an existing network of ground water monitoring wells at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Hoe Creek Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) Experimental Site indicated that organic contaminants, particularly phenols produced during gasification experiments, were threatening neighboring ground water resources. The existing monitoring well network was sparse and further definition of the extent and direction of contaminant migration was needed. Additionally, water level data, important in determining flow directions, was incomplete. A field program was designed and implemented to locate and define the organic contamination and expand the existing ground water monitoring program. The program utilized field analysis of phenol for contaminant detection and well location, followed by completion using gas-drive ground water samplers/piezometers. Geophysical logging was used to permit optimum placement of the samplers. The geologic aspects of the site posed some interesting problems to the installation of the samplers. The contaminant plume edge was defined in the east, west and south directions during the field program. Further work is needed in the north direction.     

Low-Flow Purging and Sampling of Ground Water Monitoring Wells with Dedicated Systems

A field study was conducted to assess purging requirements for dedicated sampling systems in conventional monitoring wells and for pumps encased in short screens and buried within a shallow sandy aquifer. Low-flow purging methods were used, and wells were purged until water quality indicator parameters (dissolved oxygen, specific conductance, turbidity) and contaminant concentrations (chromate, trichloroethylene, dichloroethylene) reached equilibrium. Eight wells, varying in depth from 4.6 to 15.2 m below ground surface, were studied. The data show that purge volumes were independent of well depth or casing volumes. Contaminant concentrations equilibrated with less than 7.5 I. of purge volume in all wells. Initial contaminant concentration values were generally within 20 percent of final values. Water quality parameters equilibrated in less than 10 L in all wells and were conservative measures for indicating the presence of adjacent formation water. Water quality parameters equilibrated faster in dedicated sampling systems than in portable systems and initial turbidity levels were lower.     

Sampling of VOCs with the BAT Ground Water Sampling System

In the BAT ground water sampling system, a stainless steel probe with a porous filter element is pushed vertically to the desired sampling depth. An evacuated glass sampling tube is then lowered down the penetration rods where it makes contact with the filter via a hypodermic needle and draws a pore fluid sample.
An investigation of the system was carried out at a number of sites contaminated by leaking underground gasoline storage tanks. Ground water samples obtained using the BAT system and adjacent monitoring wells were analyzed for volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
Because the BAT system is an in situ penetration device with a small filter length, it is possible to determine variations in contaminant concentration with depth. BAT samples in general exhibited higher recovery of VOCs than did bailer samples from adjacent monitoring wells screened over large intervals.
Much higher levels of VOCs were recovered when the probe was used with its 316 stainless steel filter than when using the high-density polyethylene (HDPE) filter. Significant sorption apparently occurred on the latter filter.
Because the BAT sample tubes are sealed and remain a closed system, the in situ water pressure is maintained. No significant loss of VOCs was found in sampling tubes containing headspace. Samples from the upper tube in the cascaded setup with headspace recovered levels of VOCs as high, or in a few cases higher, than the lower, no-headspace tubes.     

Control of Ground Water Contamination at an Active Uranium Mill

Seepage from tailings ponds associated with an active uranium mill in Utah has resulted in contamination of ground water contained in the Dakota-Burro Canyon Formation. This aquifer is used in the area as a supply for domestic and industrial wells.
Results of very low-frequency electromagnetic surveys and ground water quality investigations at the site indicated that the flow of ground water and contaminants is primarily fracture-controlled. Pumping tests were conducted to determine the hydraulic characteristics of the fractured system. The extent of contaminant migration was then determined using an analytical model of transport in fractured aquifers.
Based on these investigations, a plan was designed to control future and remediate past ground water contamination. This plan consists of pumping from a single well intersecting the main fracture that transports contaminants off the site. The effectiveness of the plan was analytically modeled, taking account of the anisotropy of the ground water system. Subsequent monitoring of water levels in the area indicates that the plan has been effective since its inception in November 1983.     

Robowell: An Automated Process for Monitoring Ground Water Quality Using Established Sampling Protocols

Robowell is an automated process for monitoring selected ground water quality properties and constituents by pumping a well or multilevel sampler. Robowell was developed and tested to provide a cost-effective monitoring system that meets protocols expected for manual sampling. The process uses commercially available electronics, instrumentation, and hardware, so it can be configured to monitor ground water quality using the equipment, purge protocol, and monitoring well design most appropriate for the monitoring site and the contaminants of interest. A Robowell prototype was installed on a sewage-treatment plant infiltration bed that overlies a well-studied u neon fined sand and gravel aquifer at the Massachusetts Military Reservation, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, during a time when two distinct plumes of constituents were released. The prototype was operated from May 10 to November 13, 1996, and quality-assurance/quality-control measurements demonstrated that the data obtained by the automated method was equivalent to data obtained by manual sampling methods using the same sampling protocols. Water level, specific conductance, pH, water temperature, dissolved oxygen, and dissolved ammonium were monitored by the prototype as the wells were purged according to U.S. Geological Survey (LJSGS) ground water sampling protocols. Remote access to the data record, via phone modem communications, indicated the arrival of each plume over a few days and the subsequent geochemical reactions over the following weeks. Real-time availability of the monitoring record provided the information needed to initiate manual sampling efforts in response to changes in measured ground water quality, which proved the method and characterized the screened portion of the plume in detail through time. The methods and the case study described are presented to document the process for future use.     

An Analysis of Low-Flow Ground Water Sampling Methodology

Low-flow ground water sampling methodology can minimize well disturbance and aggravated colloid transport into samples obtained from monitoring wells. However, in low hydraulic conductivity formations, low-flow sampling methodology can cause excessive drawdown that can result in screen desaturation and high ground water velocities in the vicinity of the well, causing unwanted colloid and soil transport into ground water samples taken from the well. Ground water velocities may increase several fold above that of the natural setting. To examine the drawdown behavior of a monitoring well, mathematical relationships can be developed that allow prediction of the steady-state drawdown for constant low-flow pumping rates based on well geometry and aquifer properties. The equations also estimate the time necessary to reach drawdown equilibrium. These same equations can be used to estimate the relative contribution of water entering a sampling device from either the well standpipe or the aquifer. Such equations can be useful in planning a low-flow sampling program and may suggest when to collect a water sample. In low hydraulic conductivity formations, the equations suggest that drawdown may not stabilize for well depths, violating the minimal drawdown requirement of the low-flow technique. In such cases, it may be more appropriate to collect a slug or passive sample from the well screen, under the assumption that the water in the well screen is in equilibrium with the surrounding aquifer.     

A Comparison of Sampling Mechanisms Available for Small-Diameter Ground Water Monitoring Wells

The objective of most ground water quality monitoring programs is to obtain samples that are "representative" or that retain the physical and chemical properties of the ground water in an aquifer. Many factors can influence whether or not a particular sample is representative, but perhaps the most critical factor is the method or type of sampling device used to retrieve the sample.
The sampling equipment available today ranges from simple to highly sophisticated, and includes bailers, syringe devices, suction-lift pumps, gas-drive devices, bladder (Middelburg-type) pumps, gear-drive and helical rotor electric submersible pumps and gas-driven piston pumps. New devices are continually being developed for use in small-diameter wells in order to meet the needs of professionals engaged in implementing elaborate ground water monitoring programs.
In selecting a sampling device for a monitoring program, the professional must consider a number of details. Among the considerations are: the outside diameter of the device, the overall impact of the device on ground water sample integrity (including the materials from which the sampling device and associated equipment are made and the method by which the device delivers the sample), the capability of the device to purge the well of stagnant water, the rate and the ability to control the rate at which the sample is delivered, the depth limitations of the device, the ease of operating, cleaning and maintaining the device, the portability of the device and required accessory equipment, the reliability and durability of the device, and the initial and operational cost of the device and accessory equipment. Based on these considerations, each of the devices available for sampling ground water from small-diameter wells has its own unique set of advantages and disadvantages that make it suitable for sampling under specific sets of conditions. No one sampling device is applicable to all sampling situations.     

Observed Spatial and Temporal Distributions of CVOCs at Colorado and New York Vapor Intrusion Sites

The vapor intrusion impacts associated with the presence of chlorinated volatile organic contaminant plumes in the ground water beneath residential areas in Colorado and New York have been the subject of extensive site investigations and structure sampling efforts. Large data sets of ground water and indoor air monitoring data collected over a decade-long monitoring program at the Redfield, Colorado, site and monthly ground water and structure monitoring data collected over a 19-month period from structures in New York State are analyzed to illustrate the temporal and spatial distributions in the concentration of volatile organic compounds that one may encounter when evaluating the potential for exposures due to vapor intrusion. The analysis of these data demonstrates that although the areal extent of structures impacted by vapor intrusion mirrors the areal extent of chlorinated volatile organic compounds in the ground water, not all structures above the plume will be impacted. It also highlights the fact that measured concentrations of volatile organic compounds in the indoor air and subslab vapor can vary considerably from month to month and season to season. Sampling results from any one location at any given point in time cannot be expected to represent the range of conditions that may exist at neighboring locations or at other times. Recognition of this variability is important when designing sampling plans and risk management programs to address the vapor intrusion pathway.     

Modeling Ground Water Quality Sampling Decisions

Questions such as what, where, when, and how often to sample play a central role in the development of monitoring strategies. Limited resources will not permit sampling for many contaminants at the same frequency at all well sites. Therefore, a resource allocation strategy is necessary to arrive at answers for the preceding types of questions. Such a strategy for a ground water quality monitoring program is formulated as an integer programming model (an optimization model). The model will be of use in the process of deciding what constituents to sample and where to sample them so as to maximize a given objective, subject to a set of budget, sampling, and regulatory constraints. The maximization objective in the model is defined as a weighted function of population exposure to a scaled measure of observed chemical concentrations. The sampling constraints are based on the observed variability of contaminants in the aquifer, needed precision in estimates, a chosen level of significance, the available budget for implementing the program, and selected regulatory constraints. The model is tested with field data obtained for 10 selected constituents from more than 650 wells in the Cambrian-Ordovician aquifer in Iowa. Results from two alternative formulations of the model are compared, analyzed, and discussed. Further avenues for research are briefly outlined.     

Utilization of Shallow Geophysical Sensing at Two Abandoned Municipal/Industrial Waste Landfills on the Missouri River Floodplain

In the past 30 to 40 years, floodplain areas of large rivers, such as the Missouri River, have been extensively used for large industrial and municipal landfills. Many of these sites are now causing varying degrees of ground water contamination. Rapid geophysical characterization techniques have proven useful for delineation of anomalous areas indicative of potential contaminant plumes. These methods have also resulted in a cost effective approach to the location and number of monitoring wells.
An effective technique to initially characterize ground water contamination at such landfills along the Missouri River in northwestern Missouri involved a combination of electrical resistivity and electromagnetic conductivity methods. Resistivity was used to obtain soundings of the alluvium by using a modified Wenner array and to corroborate shallow electromagnetic conductivity measurements by using short Wenner array electrode spacings.
Upon confirmation of similar measurements of the upper soils for the two methods, numerous electromagnetic conductivity traverses were made at each landfill site. The data generated from these surveys were graphed and contoured to delineate anomalous areas. Based on the geophysical study, a ground water monitoring well network was then designed for each landfill.
As a result, a minimal number of wells were required to initially characterize the ground water quality at these two sites. In general, analysis of water samples from these wells displayed good correlation with the geophysical results.     

Simulation of Sampling and Hydraulic Tests to Assess a Hybrid Monitoring Well Design

Determination of the nature, extent, and rate of off-site chemical migration are common objectives of hazardous waste site investigations. Chemical analyses of water samples from monitoring wells and measurements of hydraulic head and hydraulic conductivity provide the basis for making these determinations. Accurate site assessment, therefore, depends upon the appropriate monitoring well design and sampling and testing procedures.
During the course of remedial investigations in Niagara Falls, New York, it has been necessary to evaluate the ground water quality and hydraulic characteristics of 5- to 30-feet thick overburden formations. Many of the monitoring wells completed to these formations consist of a partially penetrating screen (5 feet at the base of the formation) with a fully penetrating sandpack. Questions regarding how this well design influences the source of sampled ground water and hydraulic tests were examined using an extremely fine axisymmetric grid with SATURN, a two-dimensional, finite-element ground water model, and a particle tracking post-processor.
A discrete sensitivity analysis was made to determine how flow patterns induced by pumping at 1 gpm are affected by: different screen and sandpack configurations, the ratio of sandpack to formation hydraulic conductivities, heterogeneity, anisotropy, and sandpack thickness. The simulations show that the source (and chemistry given a non-uniform chemical distribution) of ground water sampled will vary considerably depending on a number of factors. Analysis of simulated drawdowns in the monitoring well during purging shows that calculated transmissivities for the range of well designs and conditions modeled will be accurate to within one-half order of magnitude.     

The Utility of Multiple-Completion Monitoring Wells for Describing a Solvent Plume

At a study site in the midwestern United States, multiple-completion wells demonstrated that a vertical hydraulic gradient was responsible for the contamination pattern exhibited by chlorinated solvent plumes. The typical pattern consisted of little or no contamination in the upper portion of the aquifer with concentrations increasing with depth. When ground water contamination was discovered in an unexpected portion of the site, water level elevations and contaminant distribution data obtained from multiple-completion wells resulted in identification of the source location. The well eventually determined to be located in the source area displayed contaminant levels much higher in the upper zone of the aquifer — the opposite contamination pattern of other on-site wells. Such results indicated that the spill had occurred near this location and that solvent residing along the capillary fringe was continuing to contaminate the aquifer.     

Identifying the potential loss of monitoring wells using an uncertainty analysis

From the mid-1940s through the 1980s, large volumes of waste water were discharged at the Hanford Site in southeastern Washington State, causing a large-scale rise (>20 m) in the water table. When waste water discharges ceased in 1988, ground water mounds began to dissipate. This caused a large number of wells to go dry and has made it difficult to monitor contaminant plume migration. To identify monitoring wells that will need replacement, a methodology has been developed using a first-order uncertainty analysis with UCODE, a nonlinear parameter estimation code. Using a three-dimensional, finite-element ground water flow code, key parameters were identified by calibrating to historical hydraulic head data. Results from the calibration period were then used to check model predictions by comparing monitoring wells' wet/dry status with field data. This status was analyzed using a methodology that incorporated the 0.3 cumulative probability derived from the confidence and prediction intervals. For comparison, a nonphysically based trend model was also used as a predictor of wells' wet/dry status. Although the numerical model outperformed the trend model, for both models, the central value of the intervals was a better predictor of a wet well status. The prediction interval, however, was more successful at identifying dry wells. Predictions made through the year 2048 indicated that 46% of the wells in the monitoring well network are likely to go dry in areas near the river and where the ground water mound is dissipating.     

Some Biases in Sampling Multilevel Piezometers for Volatile Organics

Multilevel piezometers are cost-effective monitoring devices for determining the three-dimensional distribution of solutes in ground water. Construction includes flexible tubing (plastic or Teflon®). Their sampling is subject to a number of'potential biases, particularly: (1) losses of volatile organic solutes via volatilization, (2) sorption onto the flexible tubing of the piezometers, (3) leaching of organics from this tubing, and (4) collection of unrepresentative samples due to inadequate piezometer flushing. It is shown that these biases are minimal or are easily controlled in most situations.
Another source of bias has been recognized. Organic solutes present in ground water above the screened level can penetrate the flexible plastic or Teflon tubing and contaminate the sampled water being drawn through this tubing. Laboratory tests and field results indicate this transmission causes low organic contaminant concentrations to be erroneously attributed to ground water which is free of such contaminants. The transmitted organics apparently desorb from the plastic tubing during flushing of even 40 piezometer volumes.
Recognition of this transmission problem provides for a better interpretation of existing organic contaminant distribution data. Caution is advised when considering the use of these monitoring devices in organic solute contaminant studies.     

Design, Installation, and Uses of Combination Ground Water and Gas Sampling Wells

Waste disposal sites with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) frequently contain contaminants that are present in both the ground water and vadose zone. Vertical sampling is useful where transport of VOCs in the vadose zone may effect ground water and where steep vertical gradients in chemical concentrations are anticipated. Designs for combination ground water and gas sampling wells place the tubing inside the casing with the sample port penetrating the casing for sampling. This physically interferes with pump or sampler placement. This paper describes a well design that combines a ground water well with gas sampling ports by attaching the gas sampling tubing and ports to the exterior of the casing. Placement of the tubing on the exterior of the casing allows exact definition of gas port depth, reduces physical interference between the various monitoring equipment, and allows simultaneous remediation and monitoring in a single well. The usefulness and versatility of this design was demonstrated at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) with the installation of seven wells with 53 gas ports, in a geologic formation consisting of deep basalt with sedimentary interbeds at depths from 7.2 to 178 m below land surface. The INEEL combination well design is easy to construct, install, and operate.     

Impact of Recharge Through Residual Oil Upon Sampling of Underlying Ground Water

At an aviation gasoline spill site in Traverse City, Michigan, historical records indicate a positive correlation between significant rainfall events and increased concentrations of slightly soluble organic compounds in the monitoring wells of the site. To investigate the recharge effect on ground water quality due to infiltrating, water percolating past residual oil and into the saturated zone, an in situ infiltration experiment was performed at the site. Sampling cones were set at various depths below a circular test area, 13 feet (4 meters) in diameter. Rainfall was simulated by sprinkling the test area at a rate sufficiently low to prevent runoff. The sampling cones for soil-gas and ground water quality were installed in the unsaturated and saturated zones to observe the effects of the recharge process. At the time of the test, the water table was below the residual oil layer. The responses of the soil-gas and ground water quality were monitored during the recharge and drainage periods, which resulted from the sprinkling.
Infiltrated water was determined to have transported organic constituents of the residual oil, specifically benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and ortho-xylene (BTEX), into the ground water beneath the water table, elevating the aqueous concentrations of these constituents in the saturated zone. Soil-gas concentrations of the organic compounds in the unsaturated zone increased with depth and time after the commencement of infiltration. Reaeration of the unconfined aquifer via the infiltrated water was observed. It is concluded that water quality measurements are directly coupled to recharge events for the sandy type of aquifer with an overlying oil phase, which was studied in this work. Ground water sampling strategies and data analysis need to reflect the effect of recharge from precipitation on shallow, unconfined aquifers where an oil phase may be present.     

Innovative Sampling Techniques for Ground Water Monitoring at Hazardous Waste Sites

The authors have recently used several innovative sampling techniques for ground water monitoring at hazardous waste sites. Two of these techniques were used for the first time on the Biscayne Aquifer Super-fund Project in Miami, Florida. This is the largest sampling program conducted so far under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Superfund Program.
One sampling technique involved the use of the new ISCO Model 2600 submersible portable well sampling pump. A compressed air source forces water from the well into the pump casing and then delivers it to the surface (through a pulsating action). This pump was used in wells that could not be sampled with surface lift devices.
Another sampling technique involved the use of a Teflon manifold sampling device. The manifold is inserted into the top of the sampling bottle and a peristaltic pump creates a vacuum to draw the water sample from the well into the bottle. The major advantage of using this sampling technique for ground water monitoring at hazardous waste sites is the direct delivery of the water sample into the collection container. In this manner, the potential for contamination is reduced because, prior to delivery to the sample container, the sample contacts only the Teflon, which is well-known for its inert properties.
Quality assurance results from the Superfund project indicate that these sampling techniques are successful in reducing cross-contamination between monitoring wells. Analysis of field blanks using organic-free water in contact with these sampling devices did not show any concentration at or above the method detection limit for each priority pollutant.