Groundwater drinking supply protection using cone penetrometer methods

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) has the responsibility to oversee public water systems in Ohio. When chlorinated solvents were detected in the municipal wellfield of Bridgeport, OEPA decided to try cone penetrometer exploration methods to study the problem. Penetrometer stratigraphic profiling, with groundwater, soil and soil gas sampling, and field GC/MS chemical analysis, were used to map the plume impinging on the wellfield, and locate the source of the plume. This method was then applied to studies of contaminant plumes affecting the wellfields of Coal Grove and the Belmont County Sanitary Sewer District #3, among others. This paper will present penetrometer equipment descriptions, exploration program philosophy, and short case histories of these investigations.