Using Geospatial Analyses to Identify Contaminant Source Area and Transport of a PFAS Plume

Presented on April 18, 2023, by Eric Small - Environmental Sciences Master's Student, University of Illinois - Springfield - 2023 Emerging Contaminants in the Environment Conference (ECEC23)
Using Geospatial Analyses to Identify Contaminant Source Area and Transport of a PFAS Plume at the Sandy Hollow Groundwater Contamination Site in Winnebago County, Illinois
Investigating per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) groundwater plumes can be an expensive and time-intensive endeavor, whereby project expenditures are focused on defining fate, transport, and source areas through an iterative sampling methodology. Thus, mounting costs during data collection may unintentionally redirect funds from remediation, treatment, or exposure reduction as humans and biota are still exposed to PFAS. The current case study examines novel geospatial approaches to identify PFAS source areas and characterize PFAS plumes at data- and resource-limited sites. These methods are developed and validated using 22 groundwater samples analyzed for PFOA, PFOS, and PFHxS between March 2021 and May 2022 at the Sandy Hollow Groundwater Contamination Site in Rockford, Illinois, a 9-square-mile area comprising ~300 private wells and two impacted community water supplies. Initial results successfully integrate site history, LiDAR data, and geospatial methods to characterize plume extent and source areas. Ongoing work aims to validate these geospatial methods using a groundwater solute transport model to simulate releases and plume fate and transport. These findings will serve as a potential exemplar for the rapid, initial identification of PFAS plume sources and transport in data-limited environments, reducing costs and time of exposure.