High-resolution site-characterization methods are needed to support accurate risk assessments and to select, design, and operate effective remediation operations.
Therefore, contaminants in the bypassed areas may not be contacted by the amendments in the remedial fluid, which may significantly prolong remediation operations.
Sound knowledge of the spatial distribution of the discharged pollutants in sediments is therefore crucial for designing monitoring strategies and suitable remediation operations.
In managing source zones, decision tools are needed for the assessment of suitability of specific technology to a site and design remediation operations to achieve desired end-points.
In particular, we illustrate how the HPDP approach enables flexible and efficient simulation of a complex contaminant capture system at one of the largest groundwater pump-and-treat remediation operations in Michigan.
The groundwater flow system at the site exhibits a multi-scale pattern that is difficult to simulate using standard modeling tools because of the complex interaction between ambient hydrologic stresses and on-site remediation operations.
Calculations for the case of variable K and constant sorption parameters show that the parameters expressing heterogeneity (σY2) and sorption capacity (N0) may cause changes of one order of magnitude, or more, in the time periods needed to fulfill the goals of remediation operations.
These findings have implications for predicting the progress and cost of remediation operations involving enhanced calcite precipitation where mineral precipitation rates, and the spatial/temporal distribution of those rates, can have significant impacts on the mobility of contaminants.
A modeling approach is described for optimizing the design and operation of groundwater remediation at DNAPL sites that considers uncertainty in site and remediation system characteristics, performance and cost model limitations, and measurement uncertainties that affect predictions of remediation performance and cost.
