Advances in Groundwater Data Management and Conceptual Site Models: Why They Matter to Multigenerational Projects (Virtual)

A common challenge to the groundwater industry is related to the integration of preelectronic era legacy data with current smart technology recorded data. Couple this with a maturing groundwater remediation industry and young professionals succeeding retiring professionals and the need for effective conceptual site models (CSMs) is greater than ever.

In the water supply industry, we must always consider quantity and quality, seasonal impacts, anomalies introduced into a single geographic area, and extreme weather events. In the remediation industry, this is tied to three facets: advancements in data capture methods, a proliferation of unstructured data, and analog legacy data records.

Effective CSMs require a multidisciplinary approach. CSMs are “living” documents and should remain as a frequent reference throughout the remediation process — not relegated to a dusty shelf.

CSMs must be crafted to reflect long- and short-term goals and must be clairvoyant in terms of introducing possible challenges to the remediation process. How do groundwater professionals craft a credible model that encompasses beginning to end strategies? How do you quantify the available data and rank risk? Given the longevity of the clean-up operations at some sites, CSMs are valuable tools, especially in periodic progress checks and in evaluating remedial actions at a site where multiple groups have been involved in the process.

This conference explores transforming data into meaningful insights, a significant challenge in both the water supply and the remediation industries. It also highlights the importance of both data management and effective CSMs — both exerting significant impacts on multigenerational projects.

Who should attend?

Groundwater scientists and engineers; remediation site managers; natural resources managers; federal, state, and local regulators; state geological survey personnel; environmental engineers; environmental economists; environmental policymakers; and groundwater software developers.