Examples from Stantec Canada

Stantec is an major international consulting company with projects in environmental engineering and many other areas. Three examples of Stantec’s activity in Canada, first reported in 2016 and recently updated, are described below.

1. An active retail petrol station, London, Ontario

This site had a multi-phase extraction treatment system. Based on the statistical analysis provided by GWSDAT, Stantec was able to demonstrate that while the system had been effective in reducing contamination at the site over its operational lifetime, conditions had plateaued in the last year, and further system operation was not warranted. The system was shut down as a result, providing cost savings of approximately $192,000 per year in rental and operation costs.

2. An active retail petrol station, Kitchener, Ontario

An oxygen emitter system was in operation at the site but there was doubt about whether it was treating groundwater effectively. A statistical analysis provided by GWSDAT suggested that operation of the emitter system should be terminated. This decision, based on the results of the analysis, led to savings of approximately $36,000 per year in operational costs.

3. A pipeline release

The client had a pipeline release in an environmentally sensitive area which was near a creek and had shallow bedrock. The programme to monitor surface and groundwater conditions cost the client approximately $183,000 annually. By using GWSDAT, Stantec was able to visually illustrate the behaviour of the contaminant plume to multiple stakeholders and regulators. This led to several amendments to the monitoring programme, with a consequent 85% reduction in operating costs, representing an annual saving of $155,000. As a 2020 update for this project, Stantec has used the GWSDAT tool again and we are preparing to submit a request to the regulator to remove the treatment system from the site, based on the results of the GWSDAT analysis. If the request is accepted by the regulator, the project will save $200,000 annually in monitoring costs and $200,000 in system rental and operation costs.

The GESS contract manager at Stantec commented that “our staff find that GWSDAT is very easy to use and has proved to be a tool which provides valuable assistance in supporting our decision-making process at monitoring sites”.