2012 NGWA Ground Water Summit: Innovate and Integrate

Conventional groundwater and vadose zone monitoring methods are expensive, labor-intensive, time-consuming, and often inaccurate. These challenges can impede efficient appropriate decision making. For superior site management, the decision process can now be based on current data and a thorough understanding of dynamic geochemical, hydraulic, and often atmospheric and vadose zone conditions and patterns. Recent advancements in sensors, telemetry, geographical information systems, and web-based processing capabilities have resulted in the ability to automatically generate visualizations and playback loops of sensor attributes with high temporal resolution from anywhere with an Internet connection. Groundwater applications include long-term contaminant monitoring, remediation performance monitoring, optimized bioamendment application, vapor intrusion monitoring for worst case scenarios, hydrofracturing quality control, basin storage tracking, integration of historical data, and automated remediation response. This presentation will consist of selected case studies and cover key requirements for implementation of an automated monitoring and project management program.