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IBM PC Applications in Risk Assessment, Remediation, and Modeling
A Hands-On Short Course

August 18 - 22, 1997
Las Vegas, Nevada
Course Code #116

Highlights of This One-of-a-Kind Course

  • 4.5 days and nights of intensive learning
  • Total PC immersion
  • A perfect balance between theory and practice with PC applications emphasized.
  • Designed for ground water hydrologists, project managers, engineers, and modeling experts.
  • The latest risk assessment, remediation, modeling, and GIS software.
  • Learn PC Applications of:
    • MODFLOW
    • VISUAL MODFLOW
    • MT3D
    • @RISK
    • FLOWPATH
    • Princeton Analytical Models
    • FLOTRANS
    • Golden's Surfer
    • ASTM's TIER2 RBCA Tool Kit
    • AQTESOLV for Windows
    • AQUIFERTEST for Windows
    • API's Risk Assessment Model
    • AIRFLOW/SVE
    • VISUAL MOC /BIOPLUME
    • GeoTrans' SiteGIS package
    • VISUAL GROUND WATER - Presentation graphics in 3D

Course Description

This course will comprehensively review and apply the major IBM PC software packages that have applications in ground water pollution, hydrology, risk assessment, and remediation. The program is designed to maximize the exposure of available software to the participants. Practical applications will be emphasized, with software treated as a technical tool to be applied with professional analysis and judgment.

Although flow and transport models will be covered comprehensively, this is not a modeling course in the sense of thoroughly covering every aspect of each model. That type of coverage could be found in one-week specialized courses on modeling where a single model is studied. In this course, you will be exposed to the practical aspects of many packages. The emphasis of the program is on obtaining a working knowledge of each software and applying them in a computer laboratory to obtain practical results.

The Benefits You Receive from this Course

  • Hours of intensive, hands-on laboratory practice using 486 or pentium IBM PC computers equipped with 16 Mb of extended memory and VGA color monitors.

  • A separate 500-page laboratory manual with carefully selected exercises and sample graphical outputs. The manual will teach you every aspect of microcomputer applications including simulating contaminant flow and transport with user-friendly programs automatically linked to sophisticated graphics packages that produce presentation quality figures.

  • More than 600 pages of course notes in which the flow and transport theory of contaminant hydrogeology is tempered with practical applications.

  • Broad-based exposure to enhanced graphics, computer-aided design (CAD), aquifer test parameter analyses, aquifer restoration/cleanup models, and multidimensional flow and transport modeling.

  • Learn how to do chemical exposure risk assessments, as required under the U.S. EPA's latest risk characterization guidelines, using @RISK Monte Carlo simulation software.

  • Laser printouts of graphics from every class exercise provide report quality results. Special software is used to capture electronic "slides" of each laboratory output, which are stored on a diskette for you to keep as a graphic reminder of the course.

  • The theory behind the application programs on flow/transport modeling, aquifer cleanup, and pumping test analyses.

Who Should Attend

The course is designed for ground water professionals who want to enhance their technical performance and productivity by applying personal computer technology to their work environment.

All of us have been observing the phenomenal growth and ability of microcomputers for the last few years and recognize that they are an indispensable tool in ground water studies. Today, it is no longer necessary to have special mathematical skills and knowledge of programming to do professional ground water modeling. However, guidance on selecting and properly using the wide variety of available software is necessary to be effective and proficient with modeling projects. This course succeeds at making ground water modeling accessible and useful to all ground water professionals, including those who have never modeled or even touched a PC. The course demystifies microcomputer programs and the mathematics underlying flow and transport models. The experience is truly exciting for those who are ready to learn about microcomputer applications.

Technical experts with considerable computer experience will benefit particularly from the theory behind the application programs and the exposure to new software or new applications of familiar software. Past participants with professional modeling experience have highly recommended the course to those with even several years of PC modeling experience.

Background Needed

Attendees should possess:
  • A quantitative orientation to problem-solving.
  • An undergraduate degree in geology, engineering, or a science
  • An introductory understanding of ground water hydrology (Darcy's law, Theis equation, head, drawdown, hydraulic conductivity, gradient, potentiometric surface, water table maps, confined/unconfined aquifers, simple pumping tests, etc.). The course stresses the applications of personal computer software to ground water problems. Advanced concepts of ground water hydrology, pumping tests, transport of contaminants, risk, and modeling will be covered in the course.
  • A positive desire to learn about personal computers and their applications is a must. The course demands total involvement.

Note: No previous background in microcomputers, programming, or computer science is expected.

Course Topics

  1. Fundamental and advanced concepts of flow and mass transport in ground water systems.

  2. Princeton multidimensional analytical models of flow and mass transport.

  3. Using the FLOTRANS program to quickly produce two-dimensional, non-homogeneous, anisotropic flownets, concentration contours and breakthrough curves in a vertical profile.

  4. Introduction to basic GIS concepts using MapInfo for Windows, and environmental data management and analysis using GeoTrans' SiteGIS software package.

  5. ASTM's TIER2 RBCA (Risk Based Corrective Action) Tool Kit.

  6. Waterloo Hydrogeologic Inc.'s VISUAL MODFLOW. The first fully-integrated 3D visualization MODFLOW-MODPATH-MT3Dpackage. It has pre- and post-processors for data input and visualization of results, including contours, velocity vectors, and 3D pathlines. The USGS' MODFLOW and MODPATH are built in, and calibration graphs and statistics are included. Head and concentration files are produced which are compatible with the separate VISUAL GROUNDWATER software package (Windows 95) for incredible 3D perspective presentations.

  7. Introduction to and applications of Golden's SURFER for Windows.

  8. Aquifer pumping test and slug test analysis programs: Geraghty & Miller's AQTESOLV for Windows; Bouwer-Rice, Cooper-Bredehoeft-Papadopulos, and Hvorslev slug test; Neuman method for partially penetrating wells.

  9. How to build a model. A very practical, slide-illustrated lecture of all the steps from conceptualization to calibration and interpretation of final results.

  10. Waterloo Hydrogeologic Software's FLOWPATH, CAD-supported for 2D flow modeling, wellhead protection analysis, plume capture, and exposure pathways for risk assessment.

  11. AQUIFERTEST for Windows from Germany. First aquifer testing program for Windows. Outstanding graphics, ease of use, superb print-out of results for any printer.

  12. Palisade Corporation's @RISK Monte Carlo simulation software for spreadsheets provides one of the premier tools for conducting chemical exposure risk assessments that include the full range of potential exposures and risks, and permits the risk assessor to present a discussion of uncertainties, as required under US EPA's latest risk characterization guidance, in quantitative terms.

  13. How to choose flow and transport programs and determine data requirements for typical ground water systems.

  14. Model calibration/verification techniques.

  15. Theory and applications of:

    A. MODFLOW (USGS 3D flow model)

    B. MT3D (3D Mass Transport Model by Papadopulus and Associates)

  16. A complete ground water flow and transport modeling case history of an environmental impact assessment and remedial design. The example project demonstrates the practical application of FLOWPATH, FLONET, USGS MOC, and the Geosoft Graphics System and discusses model selection, model setup, grid design, boundary conditions, calibration, prediction and effective communication/ visualization of model results.

  17. American Petroleum Institute's Risk Assessment Model (API-DSS) for petroleum hydrocarbons.

  18. Waterloo Hydrogeologic Software's AIRFLOW/SVE: radially symmetric flow and transport model for soil vapor extraction in heterogeneous unsaturated soils.

  19. Waterloo Hydrogeologic Software's FLOWPATH-BIOPLUME (VISUAL MOC). The USGS MOC/BIOPLUME model combined with FLOWPATH's graphical user interface for visual pre- and post-processing of data and results.

Course Software

Much of the software used in the course is not in the public domain and cannot be copied and/or given to the participants. It will be used only for educational/informative purposes. However, the instructors will furnish information on how to purchase the software from the developers.

As a participant, you will receive a number of public domain shareware software and PC Magazine utility programs to keep along with a course diskette that contains screen captures of graphical outputs from the laboratory exercises. In addition, you will receive a diskette containing the data files used in the different laboratory exercises. You will be able to repeat this course at home by using the data files diskette provided and purchasing the software used in the course.

Course Schedule

4 1/2 Days & Nights of Total PC Immersion

8:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. Class/Laboratory
10:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. Break
11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Class
12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. Lunch
2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. Class
3:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Break
4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. Class/Laboratory

Mandatory Evening Laboratory Sessions 7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.

The daily classroom part consists principally of lectures, with laboratory sessions scheduled Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 8:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. In addition to the daily laboratory sessions, there are four mandatory evening laboratory sessions. The course ends on the fifth day at 1:00 p.m.

What You Will Learn

At the completion of this intensive course, you will be:
  • Familiar with the operation of an IBM Personal Computer and the major software applications in ground water, risk assessment, remediation and modeling.
  • Eminently prepared to further pursue the microcomputer models covered in this course or to learn new models, which are continually being developed and applied on microcomputers.
  • Prepared to pursue the myriad of general software applications on the market that can be adapted to ground water problems as a result of your exposure to flow/transport/cleanup models, pumping test analyses, CAD (computer-aided design) programs, and graphics packages.
  • Given a firm foundation in the theory behind the computer programs, in addition to the practical application of the course software in the laboratory sessions.

Continuing Education Units:

4.7 continuing education units (CEUs). TNRCC Approved (47 hours).

Fees:

NGWA Member...$1495
Non-Member...$1645
Prices valid for the August 1997 offering only.

Location:

The Aladdin Hotel
3667 Las Vegas Blvd., South
Las Vegas, Nevada 89109
Phone 702/736-0111
Guest Fax: 702/734-3583
Rate: $55 single/double, guaranteed until July 15, 1997

Course Instructors

Robert W. Cleary was a professor of civil engineering at Princeton University and a professor of geosciences at the Institute of Geosciences of the University of Sao Paulo in Sao Paulo, Brazil, from 1972 to 1991. He is currently a ground water consultant and an adjunct professor in the ground water program at the University of Waterloo. He is the author of numerous scientific publications, book chapters, and reports dealing with ground water pollution and hydrology. Those who have participated in the Princeton ground water pollution short course will attest to his dynamic, clear, and organized teaching style. He will be the principal lecturer in the course.

Michael J. Ungs is a principal scientist at Tetra Tech, Inc., Lafayette, California. He has been involved in the theoretical and practical issues of environmental modeling since 1971 and has developed hundreds of analytical models, including those of PRINCE. Several of his co-developed analytical and Monte Carlo programs are currently incorporated into EPA and RCRA guidance documents for classifying hazardous waste facilities. Since 1986 he has been the principle statistician and modeler for over 70 major human and ecological risk assessments, involving hundreds of chemicals and thousands of receptors. He will lecture on his recent experience in statistical problems that are common to environmental risk assessments, such as truncated and non-normal distributions, goodness-of-fit algorithms, small sample size, and below-detection data sets.

Thomas Franz is founding principal of Waterloo Hydrogeologic Inc., and Beatty Franz & Associates Ltd. in Ontario, Canada. He has conducted numerous modeling studies for impact assessments for landfill sites, feasibility studies for soil and ground water remediation under Superfund, and ground water protection schemes. He holds graduate degrees in civil engineering from the University of Stuttgart, Germany; and in hydrogeology from the University of Waterloo. He has authored several ground water models including FLOWPATH, Visual MODFLOW, FLONET/FLOTRANS, and AIRFLOW. He will be lecturing about how to construct a model and practical model applications for ground water remediation.

Nilson Guiguer received his Ph.D. in hydrogeology from the University of Waterloo, where he was responsible for teaching the graduate level course ESc 651 Mathematical Modeling of Groundwater Systems, during his lecturer and post-doctoral fellowship. He has been involved in teaching several professional ground water modeling courses in the U.S., Switzerland, and Brazil. He is currently the president of Waterloo Hydrogeologic Inc., which under the name Waterloo Hydrogeologic Software, developed the models FLOWPATH, FLOTRANS, Visual MODFLOW, and AIRFLOW. He has extensive experience with simulation of ground water contamination by organic compounds, and on practical applications of numerical models to field sites.

Charles F. McLane is a senior science advisor with ENVIRON International Corporation, Princeton, New Jersey, a firm specializing in risk management and the impacts of toxic chemicals on human health and the environment. His consulting practice focuses on the application of quantitative hydrogeological analyses to remediation, risk assessment, and litigation matters. His experience with Monte Carlo simulation techniques began over a decade ago in conducting probabilistic performance assessments for nuclear waste disposal facilities and has continued with recent applications of advanced probabilistic techniques for risk assessment and uncertainty analysis. This recent work will form the basis for the lecture and laboratory sections of the course dealing with the use of ground water models and advanced software tools like @RISK to quantitatively assess potential exposure and risk.

PC Laboratory Instructors

Tereza Cleary holds a B.S. in geology and an M.S. in hydrogeology from the University of Sao Paulo, under the supervision of Professor Bob Cleary. Her thesis involved the application of IBM PC computers to wellhead protection and aquifer cleanup evaluations, including the USGS' Konikow-Bredehoeft transport model (MOC).

J. Christopher Bianchi is an engineer at Applied Research Associates, Inc. in their New England Division. He received his B.S. in civil engineering and master's degree in environmental engineering at the University of Vermont. His degree emphasized computer modeling and experimental research on pore level fluid flow and contaminant transport.

Paul Martin has an M.Sc. in hydrogeology from the University of Waterloo, under the supervision of Dr. E.O. Frind. His thesis work involved the 3D finite element simulation of the stratigraphically complex regional aquifer system in the Waterloo Region. He holds a B.S. in civil engineering from the University of Waterloo and is employed by Waterloo Hydrogeologic.

Sonia Lacombe has an M.Sc. in hydrogeology from the University of Waterloo, under the supervision of Dr. E.A. Sudicky. Her thesis work involved a 3D finite element simulation of the impact of boreholes on cross formational fluid flow and transport in a regional flow system. She holds a hydrology degree from Concordia University, Montreal.

Sue Conklin is a civil engineer who holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in civil engineering from the University of Vermont. She is currently an engineer on staff for Applied Research Associates in South Royalton, Vermont.


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