AQUI-VER, INC. services

Unfortunately, people or their actions sometimes damage other people, intentionally or otherwise. When the questions of damages or liability are scientific in nature, you need the best science available to get to the heart of the matter. Since science is a rigorous method of describing reality, it can be very defensible. However, there are many cases where the availability of scientific information is not sufficient to positively answer the questions at hand. That is why good scientists maximize the use of all available information to build a consistent story, a preponderance of evidence if you will.

Contaminant plumes are typically monitored until cleanup is complete, or if full cleanup is infeasible, perpetually. Monitoring is clearly useful and necessary. However, our typical human vision of time is linear. In contrast, contaminant plumes have different phases constituting much different time scales.

It is a challenging task to apply a limited pool of resources (money and people) to manage a portfolio of environmental sites with a goal of decreasing risk and liability. AVI has helped a number of our clients prioritize sites and maximize the resources put towards these sites.

Given estimates or measurements of fundamental parameters, it is a relatively simple task to automate estimation of risk for given conditions. It is not a simple matter, however, to understand the impact of uncertainty within the estimation, but that is the essential point when estimating real world risk.

Fate and transport (F&T) refers both to the principles and the technical calculations describing the spreading and ultimate destiny of contamination in groundwater, vapor, or free phase state. F&T is the underpinning of all environmental evaluations since it is the basis for the `prognosis` of a site`s condition. Is the site a risk? Well, it depends on the F&T of the contaminants of concern and the relationship to sensitive environmental receptors like me & you (we`re all a little sensitive).

As anyone working in this field recognizes, we are a science steeped in data and mapping of that information or associated evaluations/models.  Maximizing the use of existing data is one of the many outcomes of the skills here at AVI.  From complex geostatistical renderings to simple and effective data presentations, our work products are hard to beat. This facet of our work, as much as any other, is multidisciplinary.  Understanding and handling the original data/information is a key piece.  Knowing how to use and link different computer techniques is another.  Finding the artistic component that makes the map or data presentation compelling is yet another.  Combining art and scientific rigor produces some very  powerful results.

Mining companies face a wide range of ever-changing environmental and technical challenges that cannot be solved using yesterday`s thinking. Permitting challenges, water quality challenges, water disposal challenges, water supply challenges, mine restoration challenges, resource development challenges, public relations challenges - just to name a few (ok, maybe more than a few). The resulting array of environmental and technical challenges is unique to each mine site and jurisdiction, and can only be solved efficiently by people who have `been there and done that`. Fortunately for our mining clients, AVI has precisely the experience and expertise necessary to help solve problems arising over the mine lifecycle, from pre-feasibility to mine closure.

AVI has developed the tools and skills to efficiently derive parameters from both field data and lab data on a fixed cost basis. Several groups of hydrogeologic parameter derivations are shown on  the left.  Bear in mind that in general, derivations are based on some set of physical assumptions.   Therefore these skills are not limited to geological sciences. If you have the physical equations and the data, we can help you squeeze the parameters out that you want. This page is still under construction.  Please check back with us in the near future to learn more about this process.