Contaminated Groudwater Is Still A Modern Concern

By Author: William Hauselberg
Total Articles: 816
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Modern society is so dependent on chemicals and polluting technologies that protecting the environment is becoming an increasingly challenging endeavor. Groundwater pollution has been recognized as an issue for many decades. Groundwater comes from rain, rivers, lakes and other bodies of water. The water soaks into the ground and collects in pockets. Unfortunately, where the water can go, many pollutants can also.

Using Slurry Walls To Prevent Contaminated Groundwater

Slurry walls have been a popular construction technique for almost 40 years. The basic concept is to build concrete walls that prevent the groundwater from leaking into a constructions area. After constructions is completed, the walls serve to keep any pollutants generated by the building or completed facility from leaking into the water table.

Slurry walls are constructed by digging trenches along the perimeter of the construction site. The trenches often fill with water that leaches up and creates a slurry. Concrete or a polymer grout is then pumped into the trench and walls are constructed from the bottom to the top while displacing the slurry ...
... water. The water is gathered and either disposed of or treated. This method of preventing incidents of contaminated groundwater has a strong record in most standard construction projects.

Methods For Containing Contaminated Groundwater

Groundwater moves easily from one location to another and can mix with lakes, streams and reservoirs we use for drinking water and irrigation. If that groundwater is polluted, it will pollute the bodies of water it mixes with. Containing contaminated groundwater is something we need to do when our attempts to prevent the contamination from happening fail.

The first step is to pump the groundwater out and collect it. In most cases the water can be treated for the pollutants and returned to the ground. In other cases it is necessary to isolate the water in a container or location specially designed to prevent the water from leaching back into the environment.

With so many environmental concerns it is easy to focus on a crisis that is making headlines and ignore one that has existed for as long as contaminated groundwater has. It is important we continue to focus on preventing, treating and containing contaminated groundwater before the consequences are so severe we can't use the water for our gardens or to bathe. Ensuring that all construction projects are taking into account their effect on groundwater is something we must not lose sight of.

Geo-Solutions specialties include various slurry wall and related technologies for groundwater barriers such as slurry cut-off walls, contaminated groundwater, In Situ Soil Mixing applications, biopolymer drains and containing contaminated groundwater.