Definition of Discipline Activities: Hydrogeology

The hydrogeology discipline involves field investigations and reviews such as:

~ analysis and assessment of subsurface conditions by drilling, geophysical surveys or other subsurface sampling methods
~ evaluation and determination of the direction and rate of ground-water flow
~ modeling contaminant transport in shallow subsurface sediments and ground-water systems
~ assessment of impact on ground-water supplies
~ evaluation and assessment of human exposure and risk assessment
~ development and assessment of ground-water remediation system design, operation and effectiveness

Within the discipline of hydrogeology, improper, sloppy or misrepresented data or methods are the leading causes of litigation. Often an assessment of chemical constituents and other physiochemical and microbiological conditions present in the subsurface is required to establish the extent of exposure and to assess ground-water remediation methods or system effectiveness.

After a remediation system has been designed and installed, monitoring ongoing conditions and changes introduced into the subsurface is required to assess the effectiveness of the remediation method. Data for such evaluations may be poor or absent, making an assessment of such activities difficult. Disagreements involving errors and omissions in such designs often result in litigation.

The hydrogeologic discipline is also involved in the development and long-term operation of ground-water supplies. Metallic corrosion and pumping equipment failure, piping and tanks need to be investigated in all efficient operation and maintenance (O/M) programs for water-supply systems. The contamination of water supplies and the assessment of the source of such contamination are often involved in litigation and leaking pipelines or aboveground/underground storage tanks (ASTs and USTs) can be the source of ground-water contamination. Such leaks may be the result of corrosion created by metallic stress or naturally-induced cathodic currents in the subsurface. These issues are common areas of investigation during litigation and require input from the metallurgical engineering discipline.

Many hydrogeologic field programs are conducted in potentially dangerous industrial environments. Because unanticipated hazardous conditions are often encountered in these field projects, project planning must include specific health and safety considerations. If incidents occur and field personnel are injured, litigation can result from improper project planning including health and safety precautions.

In many litigation cases, site hydrogeological conditions and principles in use are called into question and must be defended, if possible. Over the years, sloppy sampling methods, inappropriate interpretation of subsurface conditions and technical errors and/or omissions have contributed to disagreements between clients and consultants, clients and regulatory agencies or clients and the community resulting in lawsuits.

Often a disagreement is over conditions in which the available data are ambiguous and two or more interpretations of the same data set are clearly possible. Fair disagreements are to be expected. In some instances, however, resulting from damage to human health from a perceived environmental insult or exposure is often difficult to prove as a reasonable certainty; and many cases are frivolous and simply motivated by greed.

Because the industry does handle dangerous chemicals, there is always a chance that some set of conditions may conspire to expose a nearby community to toxic agents, either via the ground water or air. The industry as well as a community in harm's way must be on constant guard against accidents, leaks and spills of chemical and materials which may threaten human health and the environment.

While industrial plants are engineered to confront and combat such risks, the nearby community is not. In many cases, lawsuits are the result of these differences, which can be based on either real or imagined dangers.

Since 1972, new technical information on ground-water issues in a searchable database can be found at the National Ground Water Association. For the cost of membership only, more than 70,000 papers, publications and texts are searchable by keyword. The link to this service, as well as other Internet and World Wide Web sources of technical information, can be found at the IET Tecnical Resources site and Environmental Law and related sites are located at the ELA WWW Resources page.

For further information on the discipline, the Institute of Environmental Technology sponsors an Internet Resources Portal, click (here). For additional information on this discipline and associated technical support, see AEG-TX.ORG and AIPG-TX.ORG.

Note: By nature, the environmental field is multidisciplinary and ELA incorporates input from complimentary disciplines, whenever appropriate, in most projects undertaken.