SP16 SCREEN POINT DIRECT PUSH SAMPLER
COLLECT DISCRETE GROUNDWATER SAMPLES
The retractable screen on the SP16 allows quick targeting of discrete intervals for water samples on Geoprobe direct push rigs.
The completely sealed SP16 Geoprobe sampler allows you to expose an internal screen as little as 10 cm (or as much as 1 m) and thus collect water samples from a precise, targeted depth.
With generic groundwater monitoring wells, which often have screen lengths from 3 to 6 m, any water samples recovered are inherently a composite of the full screened interval. Although potentially helpful in understanding that a problem exists, it will not often provide enough detail to build a sound conceptual site model (CSM) and could lead to cross-contamination issues.
As discussed in the paragraphs below, this is not the only benefit of using SP16…
SPEED
Using direct push for discrete water sampling is fast. You can hit far more locations across a site than you would if you were having to construct and develop monitoring bores. Higher-resolution sampling implies less CSM uncertainties, less field campaigns to ‘fill gaps’, and less financial risks for your clients.
WASTE MINIMISATION
Direct push groundwater sampling does not generate derived waste. In contrast, a standard solid auger well installation produces approximately 12 L of soil per metre. Furthermore, given the high clay content common in many Australian soils, compaction is a problem and results in a 20-30% uplift of waste disposal volumes. The relentless increases in waste disposal costs means that using methods that minimise investigation-derived waste (IDW) are financially more competitive every day.
SUSTAINABILITY
Most materials currently used for monitoring wells are unsustainable by nature, The environmental damage from mining raw materials, energy use in production and transport, and non-recyclable nature of well products are all concerning. Washed, graded, and bagged filter sand, PVC pipe shipped across the world and bagged, cement, and steel well covers, poly tubing for pumps, disposable bailers... The list goes on. Essentially the use of direct push sampling systems minimises the use of all of these products and appears to be a more sustainable approach.
COST-EFFECTIVE ALTERNATIVE TO CONVENTIONAL PIEZOMETER NETWORKS
We assisted CSIRO in a proof of concept project to evaluate direct push techniques as an alternative to conventional piezometer networks in remote hydrogeological investigations. Read the full story here:
