Methods of Groundwater Remediation
Waste water disposal companies like the Micah Group, give its clients a variety of services. Not only are they able to manage and provide waste water disposal through frac trucks, but they also specialize in facility energy evaluation and rehabilitation, HVAC renovations, green roofs, soil and groundwater investigation and of course, groundwater remediation. Many people have no idea what groundwork remediation is. It is actually the process that is performed in order to remove pollutants from groundwater. For those who do not know, groundwater is the water that exists below the ground surface. At least ½ of our country use groundwater as a main source of drinking water. Not only that, groundwater is also used by farmers to irrigate crops. Industries also use groundwater on a daily basis to keep production constant. With polluted groundwater, and without some groundwater remediation, all these processes are drastically affected.
There are actually many different ways to treat polluted groundwater. Today, we will tackle about the 3 most common forms of groundwater remediation.
1. Bioaugmentation- the first, and most commonly used form of remediation is this bioaugmentation. Bioaugmentation is the procedure chosen if the treatability study of groundwater comes back with no signs of degradation, or an extended time before degradation is found. Bioaugmentation is performed by planting microorganisms with strains that have been known to decay groundwater contaminants. These strains eat and destroy the pollutants away, making groundwater safe and potable again.
2. Bioinventing- bioinventing is another recommended method of biological treatment. It makes use of an in situ remediation technology that uses microorganism to biodegrade organic substances that may have been dissolved in the groundwater. Bioinventing immediately increases the activity of bacteria already living in the water, and simulates the natural in situ biodegradation of hydrocarbons and pollutants found in the water through an oxygen increase. Bioinventing is the preferred method should the groundwater contain adsorbed fuel residuals, as well as volatile organic compounds or VOCs.
3. Biosparging- the final method we will discuss is also an in situ remediation technology that utilizes indigenous microorganisms to degrade organic substances in the saturated zone. Biosparging occurs when air and nutrients is introduced to the saturated zone through injection. This act immediately increases the biological activity of the microorganisms in the water. Biosparging has been proven to work great in reducing the amount of dissolved petroleum into groundwater.
All these methods have been perfected by the Mica Group as well as plenty of other waste water disposal companies. These methods, in a way, clean the most ready water source that we have, instead of disposing of it completely. Thanks to biotechnology, we continue to enjoy the benefits of groundwater in our daily lives.
