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Workshops
All workshops will be held at the Tacoma-Sheraton Convention Center.
1. Geochemical Modeling of Hydrocarbons and Invasive Waters
on Groundwater Systems

This workshop will stress the use of geochemical and stable isotopic
techniques to monitor the fate of hydrocarbons and invasive waters (e.g. storm
and reclaimed water) in groundwater systems. Participants will first be provided
with background information on a variety of stable isotopes (C, H, O, N, Sr, Pb),
then, via series of case studies, participants will be shown how high precision
isotopic techniques can be incorporated with other site specific data to:
- Estimate the age and fate of hydrocarbon releases in groundwater.
- Discriminate invasive (storm and reclaimed) water from local groundwater using comparative isotope geochemistry.
- Assess hydrologic continuity between hydrostratigraphic units in the subsurface.
Examples of specific case studies include:
- Storm water runoff from the Mohave Generating Station (coal-fired power plant) in eastern California.
- Impact of smelter versus gasoline-derived lead on groundwater in Tacoma.
- Impact of oxygenated gasoline on groundwater in Connecticut.
- Nitrate contamination of groundwater related to agricultural and naturally-occurring hydrocarbons in southern California.
- Historic leaded gasoline release impacts on local groundwater via infiltration and surface runoff.
Each participant will be provided with course notes that include the figures presented in the workshop as well as a
reference list for further self-study.
Time: Thursday, May 3, 1:30-4:30 PM, Room 315.
Leader: Richard W. Hurst, Ph.D., Hurst & Associates, Inc.
Visit Dr. Hurst's Web
site. Contact: Bob Miller,
robertmiller8701@comcast.net, 503-650-7726.
Cost: $50, includes course notes and reference list.
Maximum Size: 35 participants; minimum: 18.
2. Groundwater in Tidally Influenced Aquifers

This workshop will present practical tools that are used by groundwater
professionals in interpreting data from tidally influenced aquifers. The
workshop is structured as a combination of formal lectures, practical examples,
and discussion, with an emphasis on case studies. A rigorous, yet practical
approach is taken towards the design and implementation of a reliable data
collection program, following with the diagnosis of aquifer response and the
estimation of representative aquifer properties in tidal settings. Focus will be
on hydraulic response rather than chemical processes.
Topics covered during the workshop will include:
- Hydraulic gradients in tidally fluctuating groundwater
- Aquifer properties from tidal response
- Strategies for designing successful aquifer tests in tidal influenced groundwater
- Physical processes present at the groundwater/surface water interface
- Designing groundwater monitoring programs
Time: Thursday, May 3, 1:30 to 4:30 PM, Room 316.
Leader: Roy E. Jensen, LHG, is the lead instructor for the workshop. Mr.
Jensen is a Senior Hydrogeologist with Hart Crowser, Inc. in Seattle,
Washington. He has eighteen years of experience in hydrogeology specializing in
the interpretation of hydrologic data and the analysis of groundwater problems
in tidal influenced aquifers.
Contact: Charles San Juan, WA Department of Ecology,
csan461@ecy.wa.gov, 360-407-7191.
Cost: $50.
Maximum Size: 35 participants; minimum: 18.
3. Want to Know How to Get Data into that Ecology EIM
Database? Come to this Workshop!

Cancelled
This
workshop will include a demonstration and Q&A session on how to submit data to
Ecology’s Environmental Information Management (EIM) database. EIM is Ecology’s
main database for environmental monitoring data, containing over 4 million
records on physical, chemical, and biological analyses and measurements. Data
submittal is now a requirement for cleanup sites and water quality grant and
loan recipients.
Time: Thursday, May 3, 1:30 to 4:30 PM, Room 317.
Leader and Contact: Christine Neumiller, WA Department of Ecology,
cneu461@ecy.wa.gov, 360-407-6258.
Visit the EIM Web site.
Cost: No charge.
Maximum Size: 50 participants.
4. Subsurface Heterogeneity: Why It's Important, Why We
Usually Ignore It, and What to Do About It

Inadequacies of transport models are most commonly attributed to insufficient
representation of heterogeneity and its control of scale-dependent dispersion,
early breakthrough due to preferential flow, and long-term (decades to
centuries) tailing. This is often seen by the nearly ubiquitous ineffectiveness
of pump-and-treat remediation. Moreover, recent studies have shown that
interpretation of so-called groundwater age data can be dubious or misleading
unless one has a transport model with good representation of subsurface
heterogeneity. We’ve also seen that something as “simple” as a pumping test may
be misinterpreted without a good understanding of subsurface complexities. How
can we do a better job?
This workshop will show examples of how the lack of geologic characterization
of heterogeneity in flow and transport models can diminish the reliability and
utility of groundwater models, especially transport models. We will then ask
ourselves the question: “If we know heterogeneity is so important, why do we
usually ignore it?” The ensuing discussion will help lead us to insights
regarding how the philosophy and science of hydrogeology might evolve so as to
resolve this problem.
The last portion of the workshop will be devoted to presentation of one
approach to modeling subsurface heterogeneity – the transition probability
approach. This approach allows relatively easy infusion of geologic and
geophysical information into quantitative models of geologic heterogeneity.
Time: Thursday, May 3, 1:30 to 4:30 PM, Room 318.
Leader: Dr. Gary Weissmann, Associate Professor - Hydrogeology,
Stratigraphy, Sedimentology, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences,
University of New Mexico,
weissman@unm.edu. Visit
Dr. Weissmann's Web site for more information.
Contact: Charles San Juan, WA Department of Ecology,
csan461@ecy.wa.gov, 360-407-7191.
Cost: $50.
Maximum Size: 35 participants; minimum: 10.
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