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Permeable Reactive Barrier
• Column trials in a University of Waterloo laboratory using groundwater from the Botany site
• Design and construction of a reactive iron barrier
• A 9-month monitoring program
• Detailed reporting and evaluation
While still in Australia for the workshop, John Vogan also met the
New South Wales Environment Protection Authority (NSW EPA) and the
Community Liaison Committee (CLC, a consultative committee comprising
local residents, councils, industry, regulators, ICI Australia, and its consultants) to discuss the ZVI technology and how it was proposed to be evaluated in the context of the Botany Groundwater Project. Such consultative
measures were an important element in gaining regulatory approval and
community stakeholder acceptance for implementing the pilot-scale trials of
this relatively novel technology.
12.3 Selected Site
The selected location for the pilot-scale reactive iron barrier was on a vacant
block of land, known as Southlands, which was owned by ICI Australia and
located adjacent to the main manufacturing site on the hydraulically downgradient side. Figures 12.1 and 12.2 illustrate the location of Southlands relative to the manufacturing site. It was proposed to install the barrier near the
northwestern corner of the eastern area (known as Block 1) of Southlands,
hydraulically upgradient of Springvale Drain.
Springvale Drain was an unlined drain believed to have been excavated
during the late nineteenth century to aid the dewatering of the swampy land
in the area. Up until the commissioning of Orica’s Groundwater Treatment
Plant and hydraulic containment (groundwater extraction) network (see
below) in 2006, Springvale Drain continued to intercept shallow groundwater in the vicinity of Southlands, and consequently provided an expedited pathway for contaminants in the shallow groundwater to flow into
Penrhyn Estuary and subsequently into the Botany Bay. Today, as a consequence of the lower water table due to Orica’s groundwater extraction, shallow groundwater does not typically discharge into the Southlands section of
Springvale Drain. However, at the time of the pilot-scale barrier design and
construction, it was anticipated that, if a full-scale reactive iron barrier were
to be installed, it would be installed on Southlands upgradient of Springvale
Drain so as to prevent the ongoing discharge of contaminants into the drain.
The position of the pilot-scale reactive iron barrier was selected to intercept part of the Southern Plumes contaminated predominantly with PCE,
Permeable Reactive Barrier
• Column trials in a University of Waterloo laboratory using groundwater from the Botany site
• Design and construction of a reactive iron barrier
• A 9-month monitoring program
• Detailed reporting and evaluation
While still in Australia for the workshop, John Vogan also met the
New South Wales Environment Protection Authority (NSW EPA) and the
Community Liaison Committee (CLC, a consultative committee comprising
local residents, councils, industry, regulators, ICI Australia, and its consultants) to discuss the ZVI technology and how it was proposed to be evaluated in the context of the Botany Groundwater Project. Such consultative
measures were an important element in gaining regulatory approval and
community stakeholder acceptance for implementing the pilot-scale trials of
this relatively novel technology.
12.3 Selected Site
The selected location for the pilot-scale reactive iron barrier was on a vacant
block of land, known as Southlands, which was owned by ICI Australia and
located adjacent to the main manufacturing site on the hydraulically downgradient side. Figures 12.1 and 12.2 illustrate the location of Southlands relative to the manufacturing site. It was proposed to install the barrier near the
northwestern corner of the eastern area (known as Block 1) of Southlands,
hydraulically upgradient of Springvale Drain.
Springvale Drain was an unlined drain believed to have been excavated
during the late nineteenth century to aid the dewatering of the swampy land
in the area. Up until the commissioning of Orica’s Groundwater Treatment
Plant and hydraulic containment (groundwater extraction) network (see
below) in 2006, Springvale Drain continued to intercept shallow groundwater in the vicinity of Southlands, and consequently provided an expedited pathway for contaminants in the shallow groundwater to flow into
Penrhyn Estuary and subsequently into the Botany Bay. Today, as a consequence of the lower water table due to Orica’s groundwater extraction, shallow groundwater does not typically discharge into the Southlands section of
Springvale Drain. However, at the time of the pilot-scale barrier design and
construction, it was anticipated that, if a full-scale reactive iron barrier were
to be installed, it would be installed on Southlands upgradient of Springvale
Drain so as to prevent the ongoing discharge of contaminants into the drain.
The position of the pilot-scale reactive iron barrier was selected to intercept part of the Southern Plumes contaminated predominantly with PCE,