Impact case study database

GWSDAT is used worldwide by major industries and government agencies to (a) protect environmental quality, (b) provide a scientific basis for decision-making, and (c) contribute to substantial cost savings. Users are able to map sites in detail, identify regions of high contamination, pinpoint locations where further monitoring is required, and evaluate changes due to management interventions. The following examples have been chosen to illustrate the nature and size of the benefits. The later material demonstrates the reach of the software.

Shell

In 2013, Shell identified that GWSDAT was used as a primary means of evaluating groundwater status by around 200 consultants in 70 countries, delivering the evidence base for environmental decisions and producing cost savings amounting to over USD3 million per year. In 2019, Shell confirmed that:

“The cost savings, according to one survey of environmental engineers, run into millions of dollars. These come from accelerating the analysis of complex data sets, identifying spills earlier, reducing the reliance on engineering treatment solutions, closing out of longer-term monitoring, and simplifying the preparation of reports. More importantly though, the tool has improved the way we monitor groundwater around our sites and assets.” [5.1b]

Shell’s VP for Environment stated in 2020:

“The partnership between Shell Global Solutions and the University of Glasgow on GWSDAT is a fantastic collaboration which has improved Shell’s management and interpretation of groundwater data leading to value creation through more effective and sustainable remediation.” [5.1a]

Environmental Protection Agency, USA

Edwards Air Force Base is a high-profile aircraft R&D site. In 2017, there was considerable controversy on whether a groundwater contamination plume was stable and whether the decision to shut down hydraulic extraction had been correct. Existing analysis was inconclusive. EPA then used GWSDAT. This convincingly demonstrated the narrowing of the plume while the extraction system was operational and enlargement when it was shut off. This enabled well-directed environmental decisions on a long-term remedy, involving multi-million dollar investment. The EPA hydrogeologist commented:

“I now recommend the software for use by project managers and their contractors across all the EPA regions in the USA. Its ability to provide real insight quickly and objectively is a huge asset.” [5.2]

Dept. of Environmental Conservation, New York State

At a Long Island site, historical releases of gasoline related compounds (BTEX) raised concerns about effects on the groundwater which is the sole-source aquifer for nearly 1.3 million residents. In 2018, the Professional Geologist stated:

“GWSDAT has been implemented at the subject site to answer important questions about the residual nature and fate of the BTEX plume and ... to direct further investigation activities with precision. As a result, fewer wells have been required to be installed, which resulted in savings of at least $150,000 in drilling costs. Moreover, GWSDAT will be used to support future decision-making that could save millions of dollars’ worth of remediation work.”

“GWSDAT is an invaluable tool for sites that pose a threat to public health.” [5.3]

Remediation of chlorinated solvent sites

RSK Group is a major environmental consultancy with offices across Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Western Asia. Since 2016 RSK Group have managed a project involving underground leakage from a storage tank at a metal-working factory site. GWSDAT clearly demonstrated the positive impact of remediation. In another project, GWSDAT demonstrated significant decline in pollution but highlighted one location where contamination remained high. The RSK Benelux Technical Director, commented:

“*GWSDAT is an excellent tool …[which] ... provides a firm scientific basis for good decision-making. It is the only tool I know which can perform analysis across space and time simultaneously. … I continually direct my staff towards it for analysis ...*” [5.4]

Multiple sites in Canada

Stantec Consulting have used GWSDAT extensively in Canada since 2016. At two different petrol station sites, contamination was shown to be under control, leading to shutdown of remediation and annual savings of USD192,000 and USD36,000 respectively. Elsewhere, after a pipeline release in an environmentally sensitive area, GWSDAT provided evidence which allowed the monitoring programme to be amended, providing annual savings of USD155,000. [5.5]

A retail site near Copenhagen

This high-end site suffered an undetected and protracted spill from a fuel line. After a full site investigation (2012−2014), subsequent GWSDAT analysis supported the approval of EUR3 million full scale remediation (2014−2015). Thereafter, GWSDAT clearly established the stability of the situation. In 2018 the site was signed off for no further action, allowing the client to regain its full value. The Remediation Services Team Leader commented:

“GWSDAT has proved to be an invaluable tool, not only in the high-profile project described above but in many other projects where a large series of groundwater data is available.” [5.6]

Further details of these selected examples, and others, are available at gwsdat.net/case-studies.

Professional adoption of GWSDAT

The Environment Agency for England issued guidance in 2020 for risk assessment of land contamination with specific direction to GWSDAT as a recommended tool. In the USA, similar endorsement is given by the Interstate Technology and Regulatory Council. [5.7] GWSDAT is distributed and promoted by the American Petroleum Industry (US) [5.8a] and CL:AIRE [5.8b] a UK-based non-profit organisation which promotes the regeneration of contaminated land. EQuIS, one of the world’s most widely used environmental data management software, provides a facility to export data to GWSDAT, enabling easy interface between the two systems [5.8c]. In addition, presentations on GWSDAT are regularly requested at conference events [5.8d] and GWSDAT expertise appears as an explicit expectation in some job advertisements [5.8e].

GWSDAT continues to inform decision making around Groundwater Management

CPD delivered to hydrogeologists, environmental scientists and other professions is a key impact pathway for the uptake of GWSDAT into industry practice. Dissemination includes both invited presentation to the Network for Industrially Contaminated Land in Africa in May 2020 [5.9a] and video training material in the Indonesian language was created by local professionals [5.9b]. GWSDAT has recently been used by projects in Nigeria [5.10a], Egypt [5.10b] and UAE [5.10c] to deliver insight into groundwater conditions in tropical, arid, and semi-arid regions, and to inform management decisions to ensure clean, safe water for all.