Groundwater Consulting Lab

Karen Kortz

Summary

• Students are given a real-world scenario in this lab exercise in which they must determine the extent of groundwater contamination while staying within a budget. They progressively request more information and summarize their findings on a map.

Background to the Lab

• I wanted a lab where students addressed a real-world problem

• I worked with my husband (a hydrogeologist for an environmental consulting firm) to try to get things right

Previous Skills

• Students need to be able to determine the direction of the flow of groundwater based on a water table contour map

• I have students answer questions about this for the first part of lab to become more comfortable with the skills

Goals

• Content– Predict movement of groundwater

contaminants

• Thinking Skills– Analysis of data– Formation and testing of hypothesis– Synthesis of data

• Other– Working in groups

The Set Up

• Students form groundwater consulting groups of 3-4

• Handouts:– Directions– Map with tank location– Request for drilling and contaminant testing

• For the instructor:– Key

Final Report Map

Final Report

In Lab: The Students

• Students decide where to drill wells– 4 drilled at the same time

• They fill out a Data Request Form and give it to the instructor– Get water table depth– In addition, can request contamination test at

any point

Data Request Form

In Lab: The Students

• Students receive data back from the instructor

• They enter the data onto their map

• Students then request another batch of data

• Groups discussions of where to drill can become quite involved!

In Lab: The Students

• Must stay within budget!

• If you do the math, students can request 4 sets of 4 wells and 13 TPH (Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons) tests to detect contamination

In Lab: The Instructor

• Students turn in requests for drilling and TPH tests

• Instructor fills out the water table levels and contaminant data (if requested) using the key

• Instructor does not give advice in choosing drilling locations

Data Request Form

Key

Evaluation

• Students turn in the final map on which they draw their interpretation of the direction and extent of the contamination

For More Information

Karen Kortz

kkortz@ccri.edu