A mass-flux method to estimate pollutants in groundwater Available to Purchase

Groundwater contamination is difficult to define and quantify. It may be easy or not to define who did the contamination and which contaminant was released, but it is hard to assess how much, where and when a contaminant was released. Second, concentrations fluctuate with space and time in groundwater. Third, it is difficult to assess the total mass of dissolved contaminant and the annual mass discharged into surface water or reaching pumping wells. These issues are documented with an example from Canada where the fluctuations in concentrations, over time and space, spanned four orders of magnitude within the plume. All data were examined using a quality control process, which examined all reasons for poor quality and revealed contradictory pieces of information and also poor procedures or field protocols for water sampling. An annual mass-flux method for the aquifer contaminants reaching a river was developed. It takes into account the contaminant concentration in the river and the dilution by the river water. This method helped to reconcile field and laboratory data for the mean concentrations in the plume and clarify the situation.