Hydrogeology
ATS International, Inc. provides expert services in a broad range of hydrologic applications. Our staff bring varied experience and state-of-the art technology to bear on solving complex hydrologic problems. By combining a thorough knowledge of geologic systems with geophysical and computer modeling techniques, ATS improves on traditional methods of hydrologic problem solving. Our hydrogeology services fall into two main categories, each with a variety of applications. Those categories are:
Water Supply
ATS combines traditional field investigative methods with innovative geophysical methods to locate water supplies for municipalities, industries, and homeowners. ATS International has a track record of success in water supply location analyses in difficult geologic settings. In particular, ATS has developed high-yield water supplies in the Blue Ridge and Piedmont Provinces, where 10 to 15 percent of all wells drilled are dry, and wells yielding greater than 25 gallons per minute (gpm) are rare. In the Valley and Ridge Province ATS has helped develop wells with yields of 600 to 1000 gpm.
When the long-term impacts of high volume groundwater withdrawal are an issue, ATS uses advanced computer modeling techniques to assess these impacts. With this predictive tool, better aquifer management decisions can be made that will allow groundwater resources to be used without negative impacts. This is particularly important in coastal areas where high groundwater demand has resulted in problems such as salt water intrusion and land subsidence.
Fracture Trace Analysis
Our analyses often start with the time-proven method of fracture trace analysis. Fracture traces are linear surface features that are often too subtle to be detected on topographic maps and often require examination of aerial photos. Aerial photos often reveal subtle topographic depressions, alignment of vegetative patterns, straight stream segments, or other linear feature that may be the surface expression of a deep fracture zone. Wells located within such fracture traces are often of much higher yield than randomly placed wells.
Electrical Resistivity
However, the absence of surface fracture traces does not preclude the availability of high-yield, high-quality groundwater. With surface electrical resistivity profiling, recharge areas can be identified that are not expressed as surface features. These recharge areas are being discovered in the faulted and folded crystalline rocks of the Blue Ridge province, with the likelihood that many faulted or folded rocks will contain similar features. The resistivity imaging reveals the recharge zones as low-resistivity vertical or subvertical features within the highly resistant crystalline bedrock. Often, the shallow water table can be seen as low resistivity above the bedrock interface.
ATS has developed the capability to look much deeper into the ground than typical resistivity surveys have previously looked. By imaging to depths of 300 to 400 feet below ground surface, we will begin to identify the horizontal fracture zones that are supplied by the vertical recharge areas, greatly broadening our ability to provide successful well field locations for municipalities, industries, and private use.
Environmental Hydrogeology
ATS International provides a broad range of environmentally related services. The firm is proficient with assessment and remediation of soil and groundwater pollutants, and has integrated state-of-the-art field methodologies with advanced computer modeling and visualization techniques to solve environmental problems.
Site Assessment and Characterization
Our site assessment services range from non-invasive Phase I environmental assessments to full-scale subsurface investigations. All assessments are performed by certified personnel with specialized training and experience. Site characterization studies are conducted by qualified geologists and engineers with the training and experience to deliver expert service.
Traditional site assessment and characterization techniques involved the application of monitoring wells to define the potentiometric surface and the extents of contamination. Our expertise with geophysical methods allows us to use minimal boring data to map the potentiometric surface and sometimes estimate the extent of groundwater contamination. The geophysical data can be used to guide the placement of monitoring wells to achieve maximum effectiveness and minimize cost. Therefore, ATS delivers superior technical services in a cost-effective and valuable manner.
Remediation
ATS uses state-of-the-art computer modeling and visualization techniques to select and optimize the remediation technology appropriate for each environmental problem. These computer tools take much of the guesswork out of remedial design parameters, the obtainable remedial endpoints, and time to reach those endpoints. This allows more reasonable estimation of total remedial costs, and often results in savings to the client due to reduction in redundant conservatism. The predictive tool of modeling, when properly applied by skilled modelers, often allows the remedial design to be minimized with greater confidence that the system will perform to the appropriate standards.
Pollution Prevention
ATS works with industry to prevent the release of hydrocarbons or other chemicals into the environment. Pollution prevention services provided by ATS include:
- Leak Detection Planning and Implementation
- Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plans
- Oil Discharge Contingency Plans
- Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasures Plans
Litigation Support
In the event that environmental concerns result in legal disputes, ATS has the expertise and credentials to provide litigation support services. ATS's high level of expertise lends the credibility necessary for defensible testimony. Our litigation support services include:
- Forensic Site Investigations
- Release Timing Analysis
- Computer Modeling and Visualization
- Expert Testimony
Groundwater Protection and Management
ATS International (ATS) provides a broad spectrum of geologic services. These services include protection of water resources, predicting long-term impacts of groundwater withdrawal, evaluating the fate and transport of contaminants, evaluating and quantify risks associated with contamination, and providing court graphics and expert testimony.
Water Resource Planning
Groundwater has often been viewed as a non-exhaustible resource that can be used indiscriminately without undesirable impacts. Groundwater withdrawal can significantly change the natural groundwater flow systems and draw water from great distances. The growing demand for groundwater for water supplies has lead to problems such as aquifer dewatering, land subsidence, induced sinkhole development, and saltwater intrusion.
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Proper science applied to resource planning and management can help prevent many of such potential problems. Understanding the earth is critical to understanding water resources. ATS uses state-of-the-art geophysical methods to characterize the subsurface. This characterization data can be the foundation of computer modeling studies that can assist in groundwater resource management and decision making. Modeling of proposed well fields can assist in well placement strategies to maximize yield while minimizing aquifer impacts. It can also help evaluate strategies to remediate existing contaminant problems or saltwater intrusion problems.
Contaminant Studies
In the event that proper resource protection is not implemented or perhaps fails, a contaminated water source can be the result. It is critical to identify the source of contamination and either remediate the problem or find an alternative source. ATS’s expertise and innovative technology are well suited for solving such problems and finding cost-effective solutions.
Water Resource Protection
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A leaking underground storage tank contaminating a stream |
Municipalities and communities using groundwater are facing the challenge of protecting their water supplies from contamination in the face of increasing development and urbanization. Some are coping with what to do about supplies that are already contaminated. ATS has the experience and technology to provide effective water resource protection. Our services include:
- Wellhead protection analysis
- Watershed modeling and non-point source pollution modeling
- Surface water-groundwater interaction studies
- Dissolved phase transport modeling
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