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Pump-and-Treat Maximizes Generation of Contaminated Groundwater

A new editorial article published in Science of the Total Environment brings to light new questions concerning the use of pump-and-treat technologies for groundwater remediation.

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In reflecting on the 50 years since the Safe Drinking Water Act regulations were developed, a team of leading environmental academics, headed by Dr. Kenneth Carroll at New Mexico State University, are now proposing: “to reassess our approach to remediation, recognizing that pump-and-treat, due to its well-documented limitations, often maximizes the generation of contaminated groundwater needing treatment (Carroll, 2024) (emphasis added).”

Key Article Points

Pump-and-treat failed to achieve closure

From 1981 to 2020, out of 1649 sites with selected remedies, only 101 (6%) have reached closure with no further action required.

Contaminant mass is not readily extracted

A major factor limiting the effectiveness of pump-and-treat, contributing to the extremely long cleanup timeframes, is the presence of contaminant sources that are not readily removable through groundwater flushing and extraction.

Pump-and-treat increases the volume of groundwater contaminated

Rather than minimizing groundwater contamination, pump-and-treat inadvertently maximizes the volume of groundwater requiring treatment.

In situ treatments effectively minimize the generation of contaminated groundwater

Technologies are available that facilitate transformation- and stabilization processes to treat a wide variety of contaminants. Further development and application of these approaches is anticipated to lead to greater future success in site remediation.

Despite these clear failures, pump-and-treat is still being used on 30% of Superfund sites.

If pump-and-treat hasn’t worked for other contaminants, how will it work for PFAS?

We are here to help with a low cost solution that works.

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The Fallacy of Pump-and-Treat

Looking for a way to eliminate the risk of PFAS in soil and groundwater impacting your property? This short video helps outline what you should know if you are considering using a method known as “pump-and-treat” to address PFAS. Pump-and-treat is an expensive, energy intensive containment strategy which has rarely ever worked to completely flush the aquifer clean. As far back as the ‘80s experts were calling it “remediation in perpetuity,” due to the length of time it takes to clean up groundwater contaminants and the costs associated with installations and ongoing maintenance.  PlumeStop is a proven solution to effectively treat PFAS at industrial facilities, airports, and military bases at approximately 1/3 the cost of pump-and-treat while resulting in 95% lower greenhouse gas emissions.

The reference and link to the paper are included below.

Carroll, K. C., Brusseau, M. L., Tick, G. R., & Soltanian, M. R. (2024). Rethinking pump-and-treat remediation as maximizing contaminated groundwater. Science of The Total Environment, 918, 170600. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969724007381