David Jordan, P.E., a Senior Hydrogeologist at INTERA, has recently published an article in the July/August 2006 issue of Southwest Hydrology on using decision support systems (DSS) in the area of water resource management to help balance stakeholders’ competing demands for limited water supplies. DSS allow considerations, such as minimum river flows for ecosystem sustainability, groundwater availability, and costs of infrastructure for bringing water from a distant source to a growing population, to be weighed against one another to develop water supply portfolios that maximize supply while minimizing adverse impacts to stakeholders and the environment. DSS provides a tool to evaluate these complex systems, perform “what-if” scenario analyses, and aid in choosing an appropriate supply portfolio.
Continue ReadingArchives for 2007
INTERA to Provide Services to the City of Albuquerque at the Former Los Angeles Landfill
INTERA has won a contract to provide the City of Albuquerque’s Environmental Health Department with technical support services at the former Los Angeles Landfill. The former landfill, approximately 77 acres in size, was in operation from approximately 1978 to 1984 and primarily accepted municipal waste (residential and commercial); however small quantities of medical waste and construction debris were also discovered in the landfill. INTERA’s contract addresses the Environmental Health Department’s need for operation and maintenance for the landfill gas extraction system, the groundwater soil vapor extraction/air injection system, and the groundwater remediation (pump and treat) system at the landfill.
A key part of the work involves providing a dedicated field technician to be available on a full-time basis for operation and maintenance of all the systems, including monitoring and sampling.
Continue ReadingINTERA Awarded Modeling Contract by NAGRA
INTERA has been awarded a contract by NAGRA (the Swiss national agency for radioactive waste disposal) to develop a three-dimensional site scale model for a proposed waste repository in Switzerland. The three-dimensional modeling will simulate two-phase flow associated with the operational and post closure period of a low/intermediate-level and high-level radioactive waste repository. To complete this effort, INTERA will work with scientists at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) to develop two separate three-dimensional models that will be run with parallelized computer codes previously developed by LBNL.
Continue ReadingINTERA Awarded Contract with ANDRA to Conduct Hydrogeologic Testing
INTERA Incorporated, in association with Saunier & Associates and Solexperts, was recently awarded a contract with the French national radioactive waste management agency (ANDRA) to conduct hydrogeologic testing in deep boreholes near the Underground Research Laboratory (URL) at Bure in Meuse/Haute-Marne, France. As the agency responsible for the long-term storage of radioactive waste in a deep geologic repository in France, ANDRA oversees the studies, analyses, and research efforts needed to select a suitable site for the repository.
In support of the site selection process, INTERA and our other team members will conduct a detailed borehole reconnaissance program near the URL. Five deep boreholes, ranging from 1,600 to 6,500 feet below ground surface, will be drilled and the INTERA team will perform detailed hydrologic testing in the low permeability formations to determine the hydraulic parameters of different formations and sample formation fluids. INTERA’s primary responsibilities include test design, conducting the field tests, and analyzing and interpreting the tests.
Continue ReadingINTERA Employee Published in Hydroline
Jordan, P.E., a Senior Hydrogeologist in INTERA’s Albuquerque, New Mexico office, recently published an article in the spring 2007 issue of ESRI’s newsletter, hydroline. The article discusses the use of ArcGIS and ModelBuilder in the evaluation of irrigated acreages and the agricultural use of water in New Mexico. The research project was funded as part of New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson’s Innovative Water Fund.
Continue ReadingINTERA Hires Peter Castiglia
INTERA is pleased to announce that Peter Castiglia has joined our water resources group in Albuquerque. Peter will serve as a Senior Scientist responsible for conducting and managing hydrogeologic and water planning studies involving water-supply development, water desalination, surface-water quality, water rights, and environmental assessments. His experience includes managing publicly contested drinking water projects, leading the public scoping and Native American Consultation process on behalf of federal and state agencies, coordinating environmental permits, and directing a variety of regulatory permitting and planning studies.
Prior to joining INTERA, he served as the Project Manager for the Alamogordo Regional Water Supply Project in southern New Mexico where he led the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to evaluate the impacts of pumping up to 10,000 acre-feet-per year of brackish water from the Tularosa Basin, constructing and operating a reverse osmosis desalination facility, and installing a 30-mile long pipeline system. Because of its potential impacts on existing water rights, this project is highly controversial, requiring Peter to focus a large part of the EIS on public involvement and exploring alternative water rights acquisitions. Peter has a M.S. in Earth and Planetary Sciences from the University of New Mexico and a B.S. in Geology from Union College, New York. Peter also served as President of the New Mexico Section of the American Water Resources Association from 2005 to 2007.
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