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.
Continue ReadingINTERA Selected by South Florida Water Management District to Provide Modeling Support Services
INTERA has been selected by the South Florida Water Management District to provide a wide variety of modeling support services. Work under this 3-year, District-wide work order based contract will include: development, calibration, verification, and application of regional models; numerical and physical modeling; numerical and physical based model development, modification, and enhancement; modeling for storage reservoirs, water control structures, levees, wells, canals and flow-ways; data collection, analysis, and management; hydrodynamic and water quality modeling of wetlands, estuaries, and bays; development of modeling protocols, uncertainty and sensitivity analysis, IT and GIS support for modeling; model code peer reviews; and technical writing in support of new computer code user’s manuals, code theory manuals, and computer software educational programs.
Continue ReadingINTERA Awarded Contract from the University of Mississippi
INTERA was awarded a contract from the University of Mississippi to support the development of GIS-based database and vulnerability analysis tools for Mississippi groundwater, surface water resources, and dams. The project scope includes developing complete inventories of critical infrastructure and key resources and performing vulnerability assessments to identify potential areas of weakness and provide guidance for prioritizing vulnerability reduction decisions. A two-tier risk assessment approach for determining the vulnerability of groundwater, surface water, and dams is being developed and applied at the hydrologic basin scale.
A Tier 1 vulnerability assessment using simple indexing and weighting methods is being conducted to rank resources. This assessment is based on the susceptibility of the resource to natural and anthropogenic threats and the economic, public health and safety, and security consequences associated with the threats. Water resources and dams, with high vulnerability based on the Tier 1 analysis, will be subjected to a Tier 2 risk assessment that includes general and specific threat scenarios evaluated stochastically to quantify vulnerability in the presence of uncertainty. The work is being performed by a project team consisting of the University of Mississippi, INTERA, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, and the Mississippi Department of Health.
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