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.

So, what can we do?  We can optimize by applying the principles of contaminant transport.   For instance, we know we need to monitor less and less over time to track a stable or contracting plume.  We can define the optimal spacing of the monitoring array using the same principles and knowledge.

Further, there are many efficiencies to be gained by changing the ways in which monitoring work is done.  These changes not only reduce labor, they improve data quality and consistency.

If you believe you are spending too much on monitoring that is not affecting your management decisions, we can help.  As with so many other things, a smart optimized program will provide you with the necessary management information, but will not provide extraneous or non-useful information.