Modelling environmental processes can give insight to support and expand upon professional concepts and scientific hypothesis, by quantitatively representing the essential features of actual groundwater systems and interaction with surface waters, often with graphical 3-D visualization capabilities that can directly benefit clients.

Developing and applying complex groundwater and surface water models requires sound data and an understanding of the physics of the integrated hydrologic, geologic, and landscape systems. For over 15 years, earth-water Concepts inc. hydrogeologists have been modelling hydrologic systems in various geographic and geologic settings across Atlantic Canada to meet regulatory requirements and for water supply analysis.

Groundwater Flow Modelling

earth-water Concepts inc. has been developing
and applying groundwater flow models to provide information to help water suppliers and water-resource planners make educated decisions about the future of resource and water supplies. In addition to the solute transport models described farther below, earth-water Concepts inc. has produced numerous 2-D and 3-D stand-alone and GIS-based models to help communities and private water utilities with:

wellfield siting and design
wellfield optimization
hydrogeologic characterization
water quality and hydrochemistry
wellhead protection area delineations
pumping impact studies
mine and other drainage impact analysis
regional water balance and groundwater recharge and discharge studies
watershed modelling and analysis
conjunctive use evaluations

Surface Water Modelling

earth-water Concepts inc. hydrogeologists perform the hydraulic and watershed modelling required by industry, land developers and regulatory agencies to evaluate water availability and reservoir storage needs for water supply and hydro-electric projects, to meet storm water management requirements, and to analyse the impact of development in floodplain areas. We use the following computer programs for surface-water and watershed modelling: HEC-1, HEC-2, HEC-RAS, HSPF, SWAT, GRASS-GIS models (for local and watershed-scale erosion analysis, nutrient transport, rainfall and storm-water run-off, hydrologic and landscape analysis), and SWMM to simulate run-off in urban areas. Our surface-water capabilities and services include:

precipitation modelling and watershed catchment analysis
water balance and surface water reservoir storage analysis
creation of stormwater flow and stream flooding models
evaluation of storm-run-off changes due to land use change
watershed erosion and nutrient transport analysis
modelling to predict storm run-off effects on receiving water quality
non-point source contaminant assessment of receiving waters
floodplain delineation and construction impact analysis

Contaminant Fate and Transport

Surface-water and groundwater models can serve as excellent tools to help water suppliers and water-resource planners assess levels of risk, emergency response times, and to make decisions regarding best management practices to protect existing or proposed surface-water and groundwater supplies. This is particularly important in areas of mixed land use where source-land control is not complete.

We work cooperatively with communities, water suppliers and planners to complete inventories of the point and non-point contamination sources within watersheds, then use such programs as SWAT coupled with GRASS-GIS, and other GRASS watershed models to simulate sediment and nutrient transport to surface waters to help assess possible surface water supply and groundwater recharge quality issues.

In addition to using WhAEM to help delineate wellhead protection areas, we use the following computer programs, coupled with GIS, to model groundwater flow and solute transport: FlowPath for 2-D modelling where data is scarce; IGW for real time, multi-scale 3-D groundwater and solute transport modelling; PMWIN to integrate the 3D models MODFLOW, solute transport models MT3D, MT3DMS, MOC3D, PMPATH 99, and inverse models PEST and UCODE; and HST3D to assess heat and solute transport.