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Hydrogeologic Investigations Aquifer Testing and Permitting Groundwater Modeling and Design of Production Wells Rehabilitation of Existing Supply Wells and Treatment Systems Water Treatment Design Surface Water Modeling and Studies Ultraviolet Disinfection

Water Supply
Protection and delivery of high quality water for public consumption and industrial use is of national importance. Population growth and urban/suburban development continue to challenge the nation's ability to provide safe potable water for its citizens. HydroQual assists municipalities, public authorities, private drinking water companies, and developers in meeting this challenge. HydroQual identifies and locates new sources of groundwater supply through hydrogeologic investigations, aquifer testing, and groundwater modeling. Hydrogeologic investigations in bedrock include fracture trace analysis, downhole geophysical logging and cross-borehole testing. We routinely use groundwater flow and contaminant transport models to determine the long-term safe yield of not only individual wells, but regional aquifer systems, and assess the potential impact of nearby sources of contamination. Other services include the design of new production wells and the rehabilitation of existing supply wells.

HydroQual has extensive experience in watershed management for surface water sources, employing techniques such as the control of land use, development density and facility siting proximate to water supply reservoirs. HydroQual has developed proprietary surface water quality modeling tools that provide iterative and interactive methods of evaluating the effects of land use changes, population growth and wastewater treatment facilities on pollutant loadings delivered to a water supply reservoir. HydroQual uses mathematical modeling to assess the effect of pollutant loading on water quality within the reservoir system. In particular, increased nutrient inputs to a water supply can lead to undesirable algal blooms, which in turn can result in taste and odor problems and increased treatment costs.

Whether it be groundwater or surface water, with over 35 years of experience in process development, testing, and designing treatment systems for taste, odor, particulate, organic and microbiological contaminants, HydroQual can help with your water treatment needs. With a long history of successful development and application of new technology including ultraviolet (UV) disinfection to water and wastewater, HydroQual can also help you meet the current USEPA Disinfection Byproducts Rules which impose greater controls for microbial contamination of surface waters and groundwaters impacted by suface waters.

 

• Hydrogeologic Investigations - The application of conventional and innovative technologies for the identification of groundwater resources is a HydroQual specialty. These include soil and bedrock test borings, monitoring well installations, bedrock coring and packer testing, surface and down-hole geophysics, bedrock FLUTe technology, and fracture trace/lineament studies.

• Aquifer Testing and Permitting - HydroQual staff have designed and conducted various types of aquifer tests for over 30 years. These tests include preliminary yield test, 8-hour step-drawdown tests and 72+ hour pumping tests to assess the long-term safe yield of the well. Monitoring of homeowner wells is also routinely included to quantify any adverse impacts from pumping. Related permitting services include wetland mapping, groundwater and surface water sampling, presentations at planning board meetings, etc.

• Groundwater Modeling and Design of Production Wells - HydroQual has developed scores of site-specific groundwater flow and transport models across the United States. In water supply investigations, these models are used to optimize the layout and spacing of production wells. The models can also assess groundwater/surface water interactions, predict the impact from various boundary conditions and be used to predict contaminant plume migration if necessary. The proper design of a groundwater supply well plays an important role in the long-term yield and durability of the well. HydroQual uses well proven techniques to optimize the selection of well diameter, depth, screen length, percent open area and material selection.

• Rehabilitation of Existing Supply Wells and Treatment Systems - HydroQual can inspect and diagnose various yield and water quality problems in operating groundwater supply and treatment systems. Services include well pump inspection, downhole video logging and yield monitoring to determine the cause of the problem. Remedial techniques include the design and oversight of liquid CO2 applications, acid treatments, mechanical surging, hydro-fracturing and overpumping.

• Water Treatment Design - HydroQual has over 35 years of experience in process development, testing and designing of treatment systems for taste, odor, particulate, and organic and microbiological contaminants. Technology demonstrations are performed through bench and pilot-scale treatment evaluations at our treatability laboratory in Mahwah, New Jersey or at our client sites. These evaluations include coagulation, flocculation, aeration, chemical oxidation, macro and micro filtration, pH adjustment, carbon adsorption, ion exchange and disinfection. These evaluations are conducted to develop or demonstrate treatment processes capable of meeting federal and state primary and secondary drinking water maximum contaminant levels (MCLs).

  HydroQual also brings extensive experience in chemical fate and transport, nutrient and algae issues, municipal and industrial wastewater and contaminated groundwater treatment. This experience allows us to address treatment issues for many of the contaminants of concern for drinking water including volatile organic compounds, MTBE and disinfection byproducts, pesticides and herbicides and metals. Our work with USEPA and state regulatory agencies on the development of water quality criteria for freshwater also keeps us informed about emerging contaminants and wastewater treatment methods.

• Surface Water Modeling and Studies - HydroQual is well known for the development, application and evaluation of surface water and sediment transport models. This experience has been used to evaluate best management practices (BMPs) and point source controls necessary to protect the quality of surface water supplies. The type, location and size of BMPs to reduce turbidity, suspended solids, and pathogen and nutrient loads have been developed on a watershed scale for water supply reservoir systems. HydroQual also has applied this expertise to recommend BMPs on a small scale such as a single development project or to minimize highway runoff impacts on adjacent reservoirs. Similarly, the level of wastewater treatment at existing or proposed facilities required to protect downstream water quality can be determined. The models used for surface water supply quality evaluation range from relatively simple, steady state, single system analyses to complex hydrodynamic, time-variable, multi-parameter studies. The analysis tool is carefully matched to the problem setting.

  All surface waters in New Jersey have been designated by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) for a water supply use. HydroQual has assisted numerous New Jersey municipalities and environmental authorities in meeting stringent surface water quality standards that accompany a water supply use. This experience covers issues and parameters such as high algae resulting from excess nutrients, nitrate, total dissolved solids, metals and disinfection byproducts. Each of these parameters can impact a water supply from a health risk standpoint. Algae, stimulated by nutrient discharges, can impact the water treatment process and can cause taste and odor problems in the finished water.

• Ultraviolet Disinfection - HydroQual process engineers have pioneered the application of ultraviolet (UV) disinfection to water and wastewater. The Stage 2 Disinfection and Disinfection Byproduct Rule (DBPR) and the Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule (LT2ESWTR), promulgated by the USEPA, impose greater conrols for microbial contamination of surface waters and groundwater under the direct influence of surface water. This has led to the increased use of ultraviolet light disinfection technologies for water supply applications, which has been found to be more effective than chlorine with protozoan contaminants such as Cryptosporidium. HydroQual has been instrumental in the development of protocols to evaluate UV, and operates the largest UV validation and research facility in the world, directed to validating the performance of UV reactors that are to be used for water supply disinfection applications. UV related services include:
  
  
  
  • Developing process design basis for UV applications to reuse water and drinking water.
  • Research and implement technology advances, including reactor performance, alternate UV sources, hydraulic characteristics and process modeling.
  • Modeling the intensity field within UV reactors.
  • Conducting collimated beam dose-response testing for specific applications.
  • Reactor validation testing under the current USEPA LT2 and groundwater regulations and the UV disinfection guidance manual protocols.