The numerical modeling of groundwater is a specialty of CCJM. Our staff has been involved in groundwater modeling for over twenty-five years and has been involved in modeling projects throughout the U.S. They maintain the expertise to develop models as well.

Streamlines of Flow from Infiltration Source with Regional Gradient

Most groundwater projects involve modeling. The first phase of most groundwater investigations is to investigate the present state of the problem, i.e. install and sample monitoring wells, and review geologic data. The next phase is to predict what will happen in the future, or predict how some project will affect groundwater. The making of a prediction implies modeling. Some predictions may be based on experience, or analysis of past trends. Other predictions may require analytical or numerical models. These models combine the data with the known laws of groundwater flow. Groundwater flow is controlled by two laws: conservation of mass, and Darcy's law. These laws are absolute; the only uncertainties are the parameter values. Parameter values in groundwater models are always uncertain; there is no way of knowing what subsurface conditions are like everywhere without actually excavating ALL of the subsurface and at that point, it no longer exists. Even with the inherent uncertainties, however, groundwater modeling is still an important tool. Certain outcomes may be shown to be virtually impossible with reasonable parameter values. By judicious parameter selection, a most likely outcome may be predicted. Solute transport modeling has even more uncertainty because the uncertainties in the flow modeling are combined with the uncertainties that affect solute movement including sorption, chemical reactions, and dispersion (small scale heterogeneity).

CCJM has experience with many different groundwater models. These include:

• MODFLOW
• MODFLOW-2000
• RAND3D
• MT3D