Groundwater monitoring strategies for variable contaminant migration boundaries

Abstract

Detection efficiencies of alternative groundwater monitoring networks were evaluated in relation to distance to a buffer zone (contaminant migration) boundary. This boundary establishes a distance limit within which contaminant plumes should pass through monitoring wells, located on curvilinear segments (monitoring loci) near a waste storage facility. Alternative strategies allocated monitoring wells to loci at specified distances, measured parallel to groundwater flow, from the downgradient boundaries of a landfill. One approach constrained wells to equal spacing, measured perpendicular to groundwater flow. Compressing well locations 10% closer to the downgradient corner of the landfill rendered alternative monitoring configurations. Computations by a monitoring efficiency model indicated: (a) networks largely maintained detection efficiency for different contaminant migration boundaries; (b) one network most efficiently attained a target detection capability for all contaminant migration boundaries; and (c) compressed networks slightly outperformed equal-spaced counterparts. Compressed networks with more wells along closer monitoring loci best maintained the detection efficiency when shifting the contaminant migration boundary closer to the landfill. Procedures described in this paper may be useful for examining trade-offs between monitoring efficiency and distance limits of contaminant travel at landfills posing potential hazards to underlying groundwater.     

Optimization of groundwater-monitoring networks for identification of the distribution of a contaminant plume

A new methodology is proposed to optimize monitoring networks for identification of the extent of contaminant plumes. The optimal locations for monitoring wells are determined as the points where maximal decreases are expected in the quantified uncertainty about contaminant existence after well installation. In this study, hydraulic conductivity is considered to be the factor that causes uncertainty. The successive random addition (SRA) method is used to generate random fields of hydraulic conductivity. The expected value of information criterion for the existence of a contaminant plume is evaluated based on how much the uncertainty of plume distribution reduces with increases in the size of the monitoring network. The minimum array of monitoring wells that yields the maximum information is selected as the optimal monitoring network. In order to quantify the uncertainty of the plume distribution, the probability map of contaminant existence is made for all generated contaminant plume realizations on the domain field. The uncertainty is defined as the sum of the areas where the probability of contaminant existence or nonexistence is uncertain. Results of numerical experiments for determination of optimal monitoring networks in heterogeneous conductivity fields are presented.     

3D inverse modelling of groundwater flow at a fractured site using a stochastic continuum model with multiple statistical populations

 3D groundwater flow at the fractured site of Asp? (Sweden) is simulated. The aim was to characterise the site as adequately as possible and to provide measures on the uncertainty of the estimates. A stochastic continuum model is used to simulate both groundwater flow in the major fracture planes and in the background. However, the positions of the major fracture planes are deterministically incorporated in the model and the statistical distribution of the hydraulic conductivity is modelled by the concept of multiple statistical populations; each fracture plane is an independent statistical population. Multiple equally likely realisations are built that are conditioned to geological information on the positions of the major fracture planes, hydraulic conductivity data, steady state head data and head responses to six different interference tests. The experimental information could be reproduced closely. The results of the conditioning are analysed in terms of ensemble averaged average fracture plane conductivities, the ensemble variance of average fracture plane conductivities and the statistical distribution of the hydraulic conductivity in the fracture planes. These results are evaluated after each conditioning stage. It is found that conditioning to hydraulic head data results in an increase of the hydraulic conductivity variance while the statistical distribution of log hydraulic conductivity, initially Gaussian, becomes more skewed for many of the fracture planes in most of the realisations.     

Innovative Contaminant Mass Flux Monitoring in an Aquifer Subject to Tidal Effects

Exposure from groundwater contamination to aquatic receptors residing in receiving surface water is dependent upon the rate of contaminated groundwater discharge. Characterization of groundwater fluxes is challenging, especially in coastal environments where tidal fluctuations result in transient groundwater flows towards these receptors. This can also be further complicated by the high spatial heterogeneity of subsurface deposits enhanced by anthropogenic influences such as the mixing of natural sediments and backfill materials, the presence of subsurface built structures such as sheet pile walls or even occurrence of other sources of contaminant discharge. In this study, the finite volume point dilution method (FVPDM) was successfully used to characterize highly transient groundwater flows and contaminant mass fluxes within a coastal groundwater flow system influenced by marked tides. FVPDM tests were undertaken continuously for more than 48 h at six groundwater monitoring wells, in order to evaluate groundwater flow dynamics during several tide cycles. Contaminant concentrations were measured simultaneously which allowed calculating contaminant mass fluxes. The study highlighted the importance of the aquifer heterogeneity, with groundwater fluxes ranging from 10⁻⁷ to 10⁻³ m/s. Groundwater flux monitoring enabled a significant refinement of the conceptual site model, including the fact that inversion of groundwater fluxes was not observed at high tide. Results indicated that contaminant mass fluxes were particularly higher at a specific monitoring well, by more than three orders of magnitude, than at other wells of the investigated aquifer. This study provided crucial information for optimizing further field investigations and risk mitigation measures.     

Configuring Detection Wells Near Landfills

A graphical method was devised for designing contaminant detection monitoring networks in aquifers. The approach eliminates bias in detection efficiency among well pairs, thereby improving the overall efficiency of a ground water monitoring network. In the equidistant configurations derived by the graphical approach, all wells are located the same distance from a landfill, but the distance is measured parallel to ground water flow, Measured perpendicular to ground water flow, there is also an equal spacing between wells in an equidistant network. A simulation model was used to compare an equidistant network to a peripheral monitoring configuration, in which wells were spaced evenly along the downgradient boundaries of a landfill. The equidistant network yielded a 12.4% higher detection efficiency and also facilitated earlier release detection. In practice, the graphical approach that yields equidistant configurations can be used to identify candidate monitoring networks to detect potential releases from landfills.     

Vertical Wellbore Flow Monitoring for Assessing Spatial and Temporal Flow Relationships with a Dynamic River Boundary

A useful tool for identifying the temporal and spatial ambient wellbore flow relationships near a dynamic river boundary is to monitor ambient vertical wellbore flow with an electromagnetic borehole flowmeter. This is important because the presence of the wellbore can result in significant mixing or exchange of groundwater vertically across the aquifer. Mixing or exchanging groundwater within the well-screen section can have significant impacts on the distribution of contaminants within the aquifer and adverse effects on the representativeness of groundwater samples collected from the monitoring well. Ambient monitoring data, collected from long screened wells at Hanford’s 300-Area Integrated Field Research Challenge site, located approximately 260 m from the Columbia River, demonstrate that vertical wellbore flow exhibits both a positive and inverse temporal relationship with periodic river-stage fluctuations that can change over short distances between wells. The spatial distribution of these vertical flows across the well field indicates two general regions of ambient wellbore flow behavior. The western region of the site is characterized by vertical flows that are positively related to river-stage fluctuations. In contrast, the eastern region of the site exhibits vertical flows that are inversely related to river-stage fluctuations. The cause of this opposite relationship is not completely understood; however, the positive relationships appear to be associated with high-energy Hanford formation flood deposits. These flood deposits have a well-defined northwest-southeast trend and are believed to coincide with a local paleochannel. The inverse relationships are attributed to an erosional, subsurface high in the Hanford/Ringold Formation contact between the site and the Columbia River. Under these complex hydrogeologic and hydrodynamic conditions, the behavior of ambient vertical wellbore flow in monitoring wells near a dynamic river boundary can have important implications for collecting groundwater-quality samples, for contributing to contaminant distribution within an aquifer system, and for implementing effective remediation strategies.     

The effects of vertical barrier walls on the hydraulic control of contaminated groundwater

We present explicit analytic solutions describing the hydraulic head and discharge vector for two-dimensional, steady groundwater flow past an impermeable barrier embedded in a regional flow field. We use the solution to investigate the effects of open vertical barriers on the flow field; in particular, we examine the hydraulic containment of contaminant plumes or source zones by combination of a vertical barrier wall and extraction wells. We quantify the local reduction in discharge rates due to the barrier wall and the local increase in the size of the capture zone of an extraction well near an open, up-gradient barrier. We find that the combination of an open vertical barrier with down-gradient extraction wells can be very effective in decreasing the well discharge rate necessary to control a contaminant plume or source area. Design charts are presented for quantifying the effects of the barrier wall on the hydraulic control of the groundwater flow field and for estimating the jump in head across a barrier. The charts are appropriate for use in the preliminary design and cost estimating of remedial systems, and for the design of dewatering systems.     

Three-dimensional geostatistical inversion of synthetic tomographic pumping and heat-tracer tests in a nested-cell setup

A main purpose of groundwater inverse modeling lies in estimating the hydraulic conductivity field of an aquifer. Traditionally, hydraulic head measurements, possibly obtained in tomographic setups, are used as data. Because the groundwater flow equation is diffusive, many pumping and observation wells would be necessary to obtain a high resolution of hydraulic conductivity, which is typically not possible. We suggest performing heat tracer tests using the same already installed pumping wells and thermometers in observation planes to amend the hydraulic head data set by the arrival times of the heat signals. For each tomographic combinations of wells, we recommend installing an outer pair of pumping wells, generating artificial ambient flow, and an inner well pair in which the tests are performed. We jointly invert heads and thermal arrival times in 3-D by the quasi-linear geostatistical approach using an efficiently parallelized code running on a mid-range cluster. In the present study, we evaluate the value of heat tracer versus head data in a synthetic test case, where the estimated fields can be compared to the synthetic truth. Because the sensitivity patterns of the thermal arrival times differ from those of head measurements, the resolved variance in the estimated field is 6 to 10 times higher in the joint inversion in comparison to inverting head data only. Also, in contrast to head measurements, reversing the flow field and repeating the heat-tracer test improves the estimate in terms of reducing the estimation variance of the estimate. Based on the synthetic test case, we recommend performing the tests in four principal directions, requiring in total eight pumping wells and four intersecting observation planes for heads and temperature in each direction.     

Comparison of Phytoscreening and Direct‐Push‐Based Site Investigation at a Rural Megasite Contaminated with Chlorinated Ethenes

The reliable characterization of subsurface contamination of spatially extended contaminated sites is a challenging task, especially with an unknown history of land use. Conventional technologies often fail due to temporal and financial constraints and thus hinder the redevelopment of abandoned areas in particular. Here we compare two site screening techniques that can be applied quickly at relatively low cost, namely Direct Push (DP)‐based groundwater sampling and tree core sampling. The effectiveness of both methods is compared for a rural megasite contaminated with chlorinated hydrocarbons. Unexpected pollution hot spots could be identified using both of these methods, while tree coring even enabled the delineation of the contaminant plume flowing into an adjacent wetland inaccessible for DP units. Both methods showed a good agreement in revealing the spatial pattern of the contamination. The correlation between groundwater concentrations and equivalent concentrations in wood was linear and highly significant for trichloroethene. Correlation was less obvious for its metabolite cis‐dichloroethene, but still significant. As outcome of our study we recommend tree coring and for initial screening in combination with a DP sampling to retrieve quantitative data on groundwater pollutants in order to assess the contamination situation of a non‐ or only partly investigated site. The subsequent placement of monitoring wells for long‐term monitoring of contamination levels is recommended. A combination of methods would achieve more relevant information at comparable or possibly even lower efforts in comparison to a conventional site investigation.     

Persistence of a Groundwater Contaminant Plume after Hydraulic Source Containment at a Chlorinated‐Solvent Contaminated Site

The objective of this study was to characterize the behavior of a groundwater contaminant (trichloroethene, TCE) plume after implementation of a source‐containment operation at a site in Arizona. The plume resides in a quasi‐three‐layer system comprising a sand/gravel unit bounded on the top and bottom by relatively thick silty clayey layers. The system was monitored for 60 months beginning at start‐up in 2007 to measure the change in contaminant concentrations within the plume, the change in plume area, the mass of the contaminant removed, and the integrated contaminant mass discharge (CMD). The concentrations of TCE in groundwater pumped from the plume extraction wells have declined significantly over the course of operation, as have concentrations for groundwater sampled from 40 monitoring wells located within the plume. The total CMD associated with operation of the plume extraction wells peaked at 0.23 kg/d, decreased significantly within 1 year, and thereafter began an asymptotic decline to a current value of approximately 0.03 kg/d. Despite an 87% reduction in contaminant mass and a comparable 87% reduction in CMD for the plume, the spatial area encompassed by the plume has decreased by only approximately 50%. This is much less than would be anticipated based on ideal flushing and mass‐removal behavior. Simulations produced with a simplified three‐dimensional (3D) numerical model matched reasonably well to the measured data. The results of the study suggest that permeability heterogeneity, back diffusion, hydraulic factors associated with the specific well field system, and residual discharge from the source zone are all contributing to the observed persistence of the plume, as well as the asymptotic behavior currently observed for mass removal and for the reduction in CMD.     

Groundwater Quality Impacts from a Full‐Scale Integrated Constructed Wetland

The concept of integrated constructed wetlands (ICW) promotes in‐situ soils to construct and line wetland cells. The integrity of soil material, however, may provide a potential pathway for contaminants to flow into the underlying groundwater. This study assessed the extent of groundwater quality deterioration due to the establishment of a full‐scale ICW system treating domestic wastewater in Ireland. The ICW is located at Glaslough in Co. Monaghan, Ireland. It consists of two sedimentation ponds and a sequence of five shallow vegetated wetland cells. The ICW cells were lined with 500‐mm thick local subsoil material, which comprised a mixture of alluvium, organic soils, tills, and gravel. Groundwater samples and head data were collected from eight piezometers, which were installed around the ICW cells. The groundwater and wetland water samples were analysed for water quality parameters such as bulk organic matter, nutrients, and pathogens. Overall, the quality of groundwater underlying the ICW system recorded some contamination with bulk organic matter and some inorganic nutrients. Significantly higher contaminant concentrations were recorded in monitoring wells upgradient and near to the distal wetland cells than downgradient ones, which were near to the proximal cells. For the downgradient piezometers, concentrations seldomly exceeded the natural background levels. Detailed analyses through the application of chemometrics models indicated that the source of contamination was largely of geogenic origin. Findings suggest that ICW systems pose a minimal risk to the groundwater quality; the greatest risk was associated with the distal wetland cells.     

Developing a long-term monitoring network under uncertain flowpaths

A long-term monitoring well network is developed using complementary and simple approaches in conjunction with a stochastic ground water flow and transport model. The development is illustrated for a case study of a U.S. nuclear testing site (Shoal) that is undergoing environmental restoration. The network design builds on three different, yet complementary, tools for locating the monitoring wells with a main objective of detection monitoring. The first tool is applied to select potential siting horizons where monitoring wells could be located. The second tool is used to place monitoring wells in locations with high success probability. The success here is defined as the detection of migrating stochastic plumes before a certain mass percentage reaches a compliance boundary. The third tool is used to analyze detection efficiency of multiple combinations of three wells. Seventy-six different three-well networks are selected from 20 candidate locations and are evaluated for detection efficiency. From the 76 networks analyzed, 28 attain detection efficiency close to or above 70%. The results of the different analyses provide multiple alternatives for the locations of the three wells, which will become part of the long-term monitoring network at Shoal. A number of combinations are equally good, and the final choice will depend on practical considerations and future agreements between model sponsor and regulators.     

A Single Packer Method for Characterizing Water Contributing Fractures in Crystalline Bedrock Wells

Water levels and water quality of open borehole wells in fractured bedrock are flow-weighted averages that are a function of the hydraulic heads and transmissivities of water contributing fractures, properties that are rarely known. Without such knowledge using water levels and water quality data from fractured bedrock wells to assess groundwater flow and contaminant conditions can be highly misleading. This study demonstrates a cost-effective single packer method to determine the hydraulic heads and transmissivities of water contributing fracture zones in crystalline bedrock wells. The method entails inflating a pipe plug to isolate sections of an open borehole at different depths and monitoring changes in the water level with time. At each depth, the change in water level with time was used to determine the sum of fracture transmissivities above the packer and then to solve for individual fracture transmissivity. Steady-state wellbore heads along with the transmissivities were used to determine individual fracture heads using the weighted average head equation. The method was tested in five wells in crystalline bedrock located at the University of Connecticut in Storrs. The single packer head and transmissivity results were found to agree closely with those determined using conventional logging methods and the dissolved oxygen alteration method. The method appears to be a simple and cost-effective alternative in obtaining important information on flow conditions in fractured crystalline bedrock wells.     

Upscaling Point Velocity Measurements to Characterize a Glacial Outwash Aquifer

Small‐scale point velocity probe (PVP)‐derived velocities were compared to conventional large‐scale velocity estimates from Darcy calculations and tracer tests, and the possibility of upscaling PVP data to match the other velocity estimates was evaluated. Hydraulic conductivity was estimated from grain‐size data derived from cores, and single‐well response testing or slug tests of onsite wells. Horizontal hydraulic gradients were calculated using 3‐point estimators from all of the wells within an extensive monitoring network, as well as by representing the water table as a single best fit plane through the entire network. Velocities determined from PVP testing were generally consistent in magnitude with those from depth specific data collected from multilevel monitoring locations in the tracer test, and similar in horizontal flow direction to the average hydraulic gradient. However, scaling up velocity estimates based on PVP measurements for comparison with site‐wide Darcy‐based velocities revealed issues that challenge the use of Darcy calculations as a generally applicable standard for comparison. The Darcy calculations were shown to underestimate the groundwater velocities determined both by the PVPs and large‐scale tracer testing, in a depth‐specific sense and as a site‐wide average. Some of this discrepancy is attributable to the selective placement of the PVPs in the aquifer. Nevertheless, this result has important implications for the design of in situ treatment systems. It is concluded that Darcy estimations of velocity should be supplemented with independent assessments for these kinds of applications.     

Novel Well Completions in Small Diameter Coreholes Created Using Portable Rock Drills

Difficult access conditions have limited techniques for groundwater system characterization and monitoring in bedrock exposed landscapes. This condition is common in the mining industry and resulted in the development of lightweight portable drills. This paper describes how these drills were used at a contaminated site to understand the groundwater flow system by adapting piezometer designs, ensuring effective seals to obtain reliable hydraulic head, hydrochemistry, and contaminant concentrations. Two drilling machines were evaluated: the Shaw Portable Core Drill? fits in a backpack and can advance continuously cored rock holes, nominal 51 millimeters (mm) diameter, to depths up to approximately 15 meters (m); and the larger Winkie Drill? requires a two or more people to mobilize and can advance continuously cored holes, nominal 48 mm diameter, to depths of approximately 45 m. The resulting small diameter coreholes were accommodated in the design of each well using a seal created by injecting grout into a semipermeable fabric sleeve. This “fabric sleeve” serves as a means to contain the grout and ensures that the entire annulus above the screen is sealed without loss of grout into the formation, allowing the well to perform as a piezometer. To develop and demonstrate this methodology for groundwater monitoring in bedrock, the two drills were used in drainages located along the slopes of an elevated sandstone outcrop near Los Angeles, California. Unique insights into the groundwater flow system of this bedrock environment, which would otherwise be unattainable, were achieved. This methodology overcomes the accessibility limitations of conventional drilling methods that prevent installation of wells in remote and rugged mountainous terrains.     

Assessing environmental risks through fuzzy parameterized probabilistic analysis

A fuzzy parameterized probabilistic analysis (FPPA) method was developed in this study to assess risks associated with environmental pollution-control problems. FPPA integrated environmental transport modeling, fuzzy transformation, probabilistic risk assessment, fuzzy risk quantification into a general risk assessment framework, and was capable of handling uncertainties expressed as fuzzy-parameterized stochastic distributions. The proposed method was applied to two environmental pollution problems, with one being about the point-source pollution in a river system with uncertain water quality parameters and the other being concerned with groundwater contaminant plume from waste landfill site with poorly known contaminant physical properties. The study results indicated that the complex uncertain features had significant impacts on modeling and risk-assessment outputs; the degree of impacts of modeling parameters were highly dependent on the level of imprecision of these parameters. The results also implied that FPPA was capable of addressing vagueness or imprecision associated with probabilistic risk evaluation, and help generate risk outputs that could be elucidated under different possibilistic levels. The proposed method could be used by environmental managers to evaluate trade-offs involving risks and costs, as well as identify management solutions that sufficiently hedge against dual uncertainties.     

Evidence of Spatio-Temporal Variations in Contaminants Discharging to a Peri-Urban Stream

Xenobiotic organic compounds can be discharged from contaminated groundwater inflow and may seep into streams from multiple pathways with very different dynamics, some not fully understood. In this study, we investigated the spatio-temporal variation of chlorinated ethenes discharging from a former industrial site (with two main contaminant sources, A and B) into a stream system in a heterogeneous clay till setting in eastern Denmark. The investigated reach and near-stream surroundings are representative of peri-urban settings, with a mix of high channel alteration and more natural stream environment. We therefore propose an approach for risk assessing impacts arising from such complex contamination patterns, accounting for potential spatio-temporal fluctuations and presence of multiple pathways. Our study revealed substantial variations in pathway contributions and overall contaminant mass discharge to the stream. Variable contaminant contributions arising from both groundwater seepage and urban drains were identified in the channelized part of the north stream, primarily from source A. Furthermore, variations in the hyporheic and shallow groundwater flows were found to enhance contaminant transport from source B. These processes result in an increase of the overall mass of contaminant discharged, correlating with the channels' flow. Thus, an in-stream control plane approach was found to be an effective method for integrating multiple and variable discharge contributions quantitatively, although information on specific contaminant sources is lost. This study highlights the complexity and variability of contaminant fluxes occurring at the interface between groundwater and peri-urban streams, and calls for the consideration of these variations when designing monitoring programs and remedial actions for contaminated sites with the potential to impact streams.     

Bioremediation in Fractured Rock: 1. Modeling to Inform Design,Monitoring, and Expectations

Field characterization of a trichloroethene (TCE) source area in fractured mudstones produced a detailed understanding of the geology, contaminant distribution in fractures and the rock matrix, and hydraulic and transport properties. Groundwater flow and chemical transport modeling that synthesized the field characterization information proved critical for designing bioremediation of the source area. The planned bioremediation involved injecting emulsified vegetable oil and bacteria to enhance the naturally occurring biodegradation of TCE. The flow and transport modeling showed that injection will spread amendments widely over a zone of lower‐permeability fractures, with long residence times expected because of small velocities after injection and sorption of emulsified vegetable oil onto solids. Amendments transported out of this zone will be diluted by groundwater flux from other areas, limiting bioremediation effectiveness downgradient. At nearby pumping wells, further dilution is expected to make bioremediation effects undetectable in the pumped water. The results emphasize that in fracture‐dominated flow regimes, the extent of injected amendments cannot be conceptualized using simple homogeneous models of groundwater flow commonly adopted to design injections in unconsolidated porous media (e.g., radial diverging or dipole flow regimes). Instead, it is important to synthesize site characterization information using a groundwater flow model that includes discrete features representing high‐ and low‐permeability fractures. This type of model accounts for the highly heterogeneous hydraulic conductivity and groundwater fluxes in fractured‐rock aquifers, and facilitates designing injection strategies that target specific volumes of the aquifer and maximize the distribution of amendments over these volumes.     

Impacts of a Rural Subdivision on Groundwater Quality: Results of Long-Term Monitoring

A rural subdivision in south central Wisconsin was instrumented with monitoring wells and lysimeters before, during, and after its construction to examine the impacts of the unsewered subdivision on groundwater quality and quantity. Prior to construction, the 78-acre (32 ha) site was farmland. Sixteen homes were constructed beginning in 2003. Initial monitoring from 2002 to 2005 showed that groundwater beneath the site had been impacted by previous agricultural use, with nitrate-N values as high as 30 mg/L and some detections of the herbicide atrazine. Our 12-year study shows that the transition from agricultural to residential land use has changed groundwater quality in both negative and positive ways. Although groundwater elevations showed typical seasonal fluctuations each year, there were no measurable changes in groundwater levels or general flow directions during the 12-year study period. Chloride values increased in many wells, possibly as a result of road salting or water softener discharge. Nitrate concentrations varied spatially and temporally over the study period, with some initial concentrations substantially above the drinking water standard. In some wells, nitrate and atrazine levels have declined substantially since agriculture ceased. However, atrazine was still present at trace concentrations throughout the site in 2014. Wastewater tracers show there are small but detectable impacts from septic effluent on groundwater quality. Particle traces based on a groundwater flow model are consistent with the hypothesis that septic leachate has impacted groundwater quality.     

Economics of Sample Compositing as a Screening Tool in Ground Water Quality Monitoring

Recent advances in high throughput/automated compositing with robotics/field-screening methods offer seldom-tapped opportunities for achieving cost-reduction in ground water quality monitoring programs. An economic framework is presented in this paper for the evaluation of sample compositing as a screening tool in ground water quality monitoring. When the likelihood of occurrence of a contaminant in a well is very small, the use of sample compositing instead of routine exhaustive sampling will lead to reduction in analytical efforts. Such reduction will be maximum when there are no contaminated wells in the network. An N-fold reduction will result when none of the wells in a network of N wells are contaminated. When 25 percent or more wells in a network are contaminated, the use of sample compositing will require, at the most, an additional 50 percent analytical effort compared to exhaustive sampling. A quantitative measure of the cost-effectiveness of sample compositing as a screening tool is shown to be dependent on two factors: a ratio (f1) of laboratory analytical cost to that of well installation and field sampling costs and a ratio (f2) of the expected number of contaminated wells to that of the total number of wells in the network. Several useful mathematical results of primary interest are derived and illustrated with case examples in the paper. Selected areas for further research are also outlined.