Groundwater Contamination Assessment
Summit Lake, Clackamas County
A positive laboratory water test confirms that a contaminant is present. It cannot identify where it came from, how it got there, or how far it has traveled. Uncovering the point of origin, vertical migration pathway, down-gradient plume configuration, and source boundary requires subsurface geological investigation.
We investigate contaminant transport through site-specific data analysis and geological modeling. We work with civil engineering teams, facility operations, and agricultural managers across Oregon to establish objective documentation of subsurface conditions.
What we assess
Four areas of investigation
- ✓Coordination of sampling for arsenic, nitrates, coliform bacteria, and other contaminants
- ✓Test selection based on land use and local geology
- ✓Lab selection and chain-of-custody coordination
- ✓Plain-language interpretation of results against EPA and Oregon drinking water standards
- ✓Review of surrounding land use records and historical contamination databases
- ✓Septic system proximity and failure pathway assessment
- ✓Groundwater flow direction and how contamination travels in your aquifer
- ✓Assessment of well construction as a contamination entry point
- ✓Arsenic tied to Oregon’s volcanic and sedimentary geology
- ✓Manganese, iron, and other naturally occurring minerals in groundwater
- ✓How aquifer type and depth affect naturally occurring contaminant levels
- ✓Whether contamination is likely to change over time or with drought
- ✓Pre-purchase water quality assessment for rural buyers
- ✓Neighboring property risk: farms, orchards, gas stations, dry cleaners
- ✓Documentation suitable for use in a real estate transaction
- ✓Referral to remediation specialists when treatment is needed
Contamination in a private well is rarely visible, rarely obvious, and rarely limited to one property. The only way to know what’s in your water is to test it, and the only way to know where it came from is to investigate it.
Glass Buttes, Lake County
When to call us
You’ve had a bad test result
- Arsenic above the EPA limit
- High nitrate levels in your water
- Positive coliform or E. coli results
- A result that doesn’t match the area or the well’s history
You’re concerned about what’s nearby
- Agricultural land upgradient from your well
- A neighboring septic system of unknown condition
- A property with a history of industrial or commercial use
- Buying rural property and want to know what surrounds the well
