KCF Groundwater Inc

More than just a slogan, our approach to groundwater investigation is to demand from ourselves a closer look into your site conditions. KCF brings a high level of project commitment, which you deserve.

KCF groundwater professionals have been practicing in the interrelated fields of hydrogeology and hydrochemistry since 1983, bringing you the experience that you want. As a result, we have worked with our clients to solve such problems as real property damage in karst terrain; catastrophic flooding of mines and tunnels; reducing ground subsidence risk; recovery of hazardous chemical plumes; remediation of contaminated mine drainage; treatment designs for hazardous leachate; and testing and modeling of geologic disposal of radioactive waste. more

NEW!
A Safe, Engineered, Geologic Disposal Method to Manage Up To a 2-Year Storm Event In Karst Limestone Terrain *A PADEP-Permitted Stormwater Management Practice

In a regulatory climate where approvals for off-site discharge of stormwater are becoming less commonplace, managing the stormwater runoff from large-sized real-estate developments in karst terrain can be accomplished safely and effectively.

SERVICES

KCF GROUNDWATER INC. (KCF) provides consulting advice, field services, and litigation support for all groundwater-related problems in a wide-variety of hydrogeologic settings and geographic locations. KCF offers expert assistance with the challenges of,

Geologic and hydrogeologic assessments of active and greenfield mining properties, and non-mining properties;
Water chemistry investigations of aquifers;
Flooding and nuisance water inflow to tunnels, mines, and quarries from karstic conduits in carbonate geology;
Ground subsidence and ground collapse in karst terrain;
Forensic hydrogeology for litigation support;
Expert witnessing;
Groundwater resource development;
Construction and mine site dewatering;
Hazardous and non-hazardous waste disposal below the water table; and
Groundwater contamination and remediation.
KCF provides modeling and forecasting of recharge to pits, mines, and tunnels; remedial characterization of deeply buried, karstic flow conduits; permeability investigations and computer simulation of water table impacts from mining and non-mining dewatering; delineation of areas at-risk from ground subsidence and collapse; dewatering feasibility assessments; hydrogeologic reclamation designs for mine sites; simulation of water and wastewater treatment technologies for feasibility and application design; performance modeling of radioactive waste disposal package design; hydrochemical modeling of contaminants in aquifer systems; geologic and hydrogeologic system conceptualization and visualization using GIS and other graphical tools; and litigation support, expert consulting, and expert witnessing for disputes involving groundwater-induced environmental and other real property damages.

KCF is committed to developing practical, innovative, and cost-effective solutions to complex groundwater and geologic problems. KCF provides our clients with state-of-the-art knowledge, experience, and a superior technical product, at a price that is fair to our clients and to our company.

PROJECT SHOWCASE

More than just a slogan, our approach to groundwater investigation is to demand from ourselves a closer look into your site conditions. KCF brings a high level of project commitment, which you deserve. KCF groundwater professionals have been practicing in the interrelated fields of hydrogeology and hydrochemistry since 1983, bringing you the experience that you want. As
a result, we have worked with our clients to solve such problems as real property damage in karst terrain; catastrophic flooding of mines and tunnels; reducing ground subsidence risk; recovery of hazardous chemical plumes; remediation of contaminated mine drainage; treatment designs for hazardous leachate; and testing and modeling of geologic disposal of radioactive waste. Our depth of understanding of hydrogeologic systems enables us to be consistently on the winning side of legal disputes. The following summary presents a selection of some of our more recent projects.

Design and Implementation of Cost-Effective, Cellular-Telemetry-Based Remote Monitoring and Data Reporting for Water Level and Water Quality Applications

This equipment and service enables the automated collection and reporting of high-quality water level and water quality data from the field anytime, and in any weather condition. The equipment and monitoring capability is well-suited to field sites where efficiencies in labor and equipment costs are desired, or where the quality and delivery of the data may be sporadic and improvements are needed. Robust solid state sensors and cellular-based telemetry equipment from a third party (pictured) are used to securely-access water level and water quality data from wells or surface water using your PC via the Internet, or automatically receive data transmissions to anywhere in the world. The equipment can automatically notify you of anomalous water level or water quality conditions as soon as they occur. Applications include: waste water applications; dewatering impacts from underground and open pit mining; real time monitoring of groundwater remediation projects and grouting projects for performance, cost, and quality control; injection well performance; and construction site dewatering or tunneling disturbances to the water table.

ARCGIS Mapping and Modeling of Geologic, Hydrogeologic, and Water Quality Information for Large Sites

ARCGIS is becoming commonplace for mapping of sites with large amounts of spatial data. KCF has created ARCGIS maps for commercial development sites, mining sites, and government facilities where mapping of geologic, geophysical, hydrogeologic, and geochemical data is key to problem solving. Where permeable pathways are being investigated for pathways for groundwater contamination, we have used ARCGIS to locate and delineate areas beneath which permeable geologic structures could lie. For a sand and gravel mining operation, KCF has used GIS to model the locations and volumes of residual sand and gravel deposits which should be removed to complete the reclamation plan for the site. On project completion, KCF works with the Client to complete a smooth hand-off of the GIS maps and models.

Groundwater-Flow Characterization and Sinkhole-Risk Delineation for a Deeply Buried, Bedrock Flow Conduit System in Karst Terrain, Allentown Area, Eastern Pennsylvania
KCF participated on a team with a geostructural consultant to investigate the causes of damage to roads and bridges which were occurring in real time. Through a multi-faceted testing program, groundwater was found to be flowing rapidly through a conduit network and piping soil to depths of up to 500 feet below ground. The conduit system was found to be up to 400 feet wide and several miles in length. Recharge to the conduit was comprised of creek water, at about 16,000 GPM, mixed
with groundwater. The piping of soil and other fill materials from beneath a railroad bridge and two vehicular bridges in the area had removed geostructural support, destroying the bridges. KCF was engaged to: (1) Locate the karstic flow pathway; (2) Field test, and demarcate the base of the conduit where groundwater flow transitioned from karstic to matrix-diffuse flow; and (3) Perform a quantitative non-dye tracer test to confirm the area of conduit flow. The tracing work was key to demonstrating conduit flow rates of greater than 30 feet per minute in areas, and travel distances of over 6,000 feet to multiple points of artesian discharge. The project has been carried out in challenging field conditions, and in emergency response mode. KCF participated with eight different companies, each handling different technical aspects of the project, and four government agencies, to investigate a very challenging problem.

Hydrogeologic Assessment of Chromium Groundwater Contamination, Historical COPR Disposal Site; Baltimore, Maryland
On the site of historical chrome ore residue disposal, chromium-laden groundwater was flowing into an adjacent waterway and introducing hazardous chemicals into the environmentally-sensitive Chesapeake Bay. KCF participated on a multi-disciplinary team to assist a State government agency with understanding the groundwater flow and hydrochemical aspects of the disposal area. KCF provided guidance to the State, and oversight and review of remedial characterization being performed by the site owner, and of their flow and transport simulation studies.

Remedial Characterization of Groundwater Flow Pathways in Dolomite for Reduction in Permeability by Grouting, Michigan’s Lower Peninsula
The lower part of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan is experiencing large scale declines in water table levels concomitant with the growth in the population, agriculture, and mining, all of which utilize groundwater. Changing groundwater regulations made it necessary to engineer a reduction in permeability to the bedrock around quarries, especially where very high secondary porosity is of concern. KCF worked with the mining industry in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan to characterize the patterns in secondary permeability. This data enabled a remedial feasibility assessment of engineered barriers to minimize the groundwater impacts from dewatering on a regional scale.

Simulation of Zero-Valent-Iron Dechlorination of Solvents; Upstate New York
KCF developed and provided a hydrochemical simulation capability to test the feasibility of degrading a mixture of dissolved chlorinated solvents in groundwater using zero-valent-iron technology. Reaction path modeling was used to simulate the metal corrosion/abiotic reductive dechlorination process required for remedial treatment of landfill leachate.

Simulation of the Corrosion and Leaching Behavior of Radioactive Waste-filled Containers for Geologic Disposal, Yucca Mountain, Nevada
KCF worked within a team of specialty contractors to study the hydrochemistry of, and future environmental impacts from, hazardous groundwater leachate which could form by contact of water infiltration with the disposal containers. The leaching of the waste and the fate of contaminants after they entered the groundwater were modeled using state-of-the-art chemistry simulators. Thermodynamic databases were specially constructed for modeling of long-lived radionuclide elements.

Hydrologic Assessment of Abandoned, Historical Coal Mining Properties; Charleston Area, West Virginia
Characterization and remediation of contaminated mine drainage was required to lessen the long term environmental liability prior to sale of the property. KCF designed and completed a remedial site investigation of the mining and spoils areas, and located the sources of freshwater recharge to the mines and spoils, and the permeable flow pathways. Stable isotopes of water and sulfur were measured to fingerprint the different water sources, and the discharge which was located ½ mile away. Re-contouring of the spoils area diverted the freshwater recharge, and hydraulic seals and grout were proposed for mine openings.