SACAL conducts risk assessments for hazards that may be caused by potential release of a contaminant. These assessments are keys to creating a strategy and to making future risk management decisions. Project components include the following:

• Groundwater modeling: Using the hydrogeologic setting information and contamination data gathered under site characterization, SACAL can employ a number of hydrogeologic models to assess the risks and pathways to human and ecological receptors or to identify impacts on natural resources.
• Model selection: SACAL will select an appropriate model based on the configuration of the groundwater regime in relationship to the plume or source term. Simple sites can be modeled using common saturated flow models. Hydrogeologic flow in vadose-zone conditions will require a different type of model from flow in noncontinuous media such as braided fluvial deposits and fractured bedrock.
• Hydrology and groundwater interface determination: Our technical experts will perform modeling to evaluate where the subsurface hydrology interfaces with groundwater usage. This determination will be made based on the surface hydrology and well information.