Client: WDEQ
Location: Statewide, Wyoming
Project Overview: In 2003, Trihydro was contracted by the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (WDEQ) to develop source water assessments for 396 community Public Water Supplies (PWSs) in Wyoming. A source water assessment is a two phase project consisting of delineating the source water areas and conducting a susceptibility analysis of the area to contamination. Final results of the project included a custom ArcGIS-based Geographic Information System (GIS) application and both electronic and hardcopy reports for each of the PWSs.

A comprehensive MS-Access database was initially developed to inventory all publicly held information about each intake (well, spring, or surface water diversion) into one location. Initial sources of information included the WDEQ Water Quality Division, the Wyoming State Engineer's Office, USEPA, and Wyoming's Water Resources Data System. Tabular information was provided in a variety of formats ranging from word processing documents, text files, and database formats. While this comprehensive database was designed initially to provide information into the source water delineation models, it later will be used by state and local public water supply officials/operators to monitor the safety of the individual community water supplies.

Delineating the source areas that contribute water to the drinking water intakes was accomplished using several techniques. Flow paths for most wells were modeled using a GIS-based version of EPA's WHAEM routine. Flow paths were modeled to produce zones for two- and five-year time of travel in addition to standard 100 foot intake buffers. Complex fractured formations were either modeled in ModFlow or hand-delineated geologically. When wells had little known information, calculated fixed radius zones were created. Surface water delineations were created based on the full watershed upstream from each intake.

An inventory of potential sources of contamination (PSOC) that could impact a community's water supply was then completed for each drinking water source. All regulated facilities that could impact water supplies were utilized. These included oil and gas wells, storage tanks, waste sites, RCRA facilities, discharging abandoned mines, injection wells, and other known contaminated sites. Information was compiled from many state and federal sources into a comprehensive GIS layer. GIS locations were derived from street addresses, legal descriptions, lat/long coordinates, and personal knowledge. Finally each PSOC was characterized by potential human health threat. A susceptibility analysis was then conducted using the delineation and contaminant inventory data to determine the prospective of each potential source of contamination to affect the water supply. A custom ArcMap application produces the inventories for each PWS. By calculating scores for intake integrity and potential contaminant proximity, the application then summarizes a cumulative Risk Factor for each intake.

Client: Confidential
Location: Northern Andes, Peru
Project Overview: Trihydro designed and implemented a comprehensive Environmental Management Information System (EMIS) for the largest gold mine in the world. The Yanacocha Mine in Peru encompasses 607 square miles of the Northern Andes. The project team developed a custom database and GIS to manage data regarding streamflows, groundwater levels, analytical samples, and real-time weather information for the mine’s environmental managers. The complete system provides the mine with a foundation from which to manage historic and future environmental data.

To facilitate the understanding and reporting of this environmental information, Trihydro developed a custom GIS. In addition to housing standard site background layers, the GIS has custom database links, allowing real-time queries of the MS-Access database from within the GIS. Custom ArcView “buttons” allow a user to view, graph, and export all environmental information in the database using location or thematic queries. A user can query data by point locations, sampling event, and contaminants detected producing "on-the-fly," report-ready tables and charts. The final application was installed at the mine site, and custom training was provided to local personnel. The complete system provides the mine with a foundation from which to manage historic and future environmental data. Future changes include upgrades to match GIS software modifications, and the addition of more real-time monitoring stations.

Client: Confidential
Location: Southeastern Wyoming
Project Overview: Trihydro is contracted to evaluate environmental conditions and conduct environmental monitoring at an active petroleum refinery in Southeast Wyoming. To manage the massive amount of data being collected and processed at any given time, as well as to provide the client and regulators with easy to review and understand products, a GIS data management tool was chosen.

Trihydro's custom ArcView-based GIS is designed to consolidate data collected from multiple consultants, several media types, historic sampling events, current monitoring, multiple laboratories, and over multiple years into one comprehensive analysis tool. Protocols have been developed to integrate Global Positioning System (GPS) sample locations into the GIS within a day of when the sample was collected. The locations are then automatically linked to the appropriate analytical data as soon as the lab delivers them.

Additionally, GIS tools were developed to allow a user to query and interact with the analytical database. A user can query data by point locations, sampling event, and contaminants detected producing on-the fly report-ready tables and charts. These new analysis tools coupled with historic thematic information allow project engineers, hydrogeologists, regulators, and the client to quickly reach consensus on which areas in the facility require additional attention.