Purposeful impact
The accolade as a finalist in the environmental excellence category celebrates WSP's commitment to supporting our clients in operating successful businesses while protecting our environment, and in particular, our precious water resources. Our climate continues to change making our visible (surface water) and hidden (groundwater) water resources more important than ever.
We provide our clients with environmental services across all stages of their facilities life cycle, from exploration and pre-feasibility and feasibility, through to operation, decommissioning and closure. Since no two projects are the same, whether in mining, energy, food resources or water supply, we tailor our groundwater and environmental services to the current stage of any project to meet our clients’ immediate needs.
WSP collaborated with Illawarra Metallurgical Coal (IMC) to investigate the behaviour of the Elouera Fault, situated close to Lake Avon - a vital drinking water source for the Macarthur and Illawarra region of NSW. The goal was to understand the fault's behaviour and potential risks to the water supply.
South32/WSP - Tracing the Fault
This project demonstrates how tracers can be used to identify complex hydrogeological features and understand potential impacts for mining.
Tracer testing for this project involved injecting tracers – a solution of salt and a fluorescent dye – into deep and inclined bores to estimate the time the tracer takes to reach the observation bores, if at all. This was undertaken to gain an understanding of the groundwater flow pathways within the fault zone. The results indicated that the fault is unlikely to act as a conduit for flow or negatively impact the water reservoir.
Fluorescein dye is non-toxic to the environment and can be monitored through various means, including visually. By applying the tracer testing method, the possibility of using an environmentally safe solution to inform a reliable result to our client was highlighted.
Andrea Madden, WSP’s Principal Hydrogeologist says, “We are proud to be recognised and working closely with IMC, we applied infrequently used tracers to determine how the fault behaves. This method enhanced the understanding of hydrogeological impacts related to proposed mining operations in complex geological environments.
“Our investigation demonstrated the successful application of tracers in fault behaviour analysis, providing a method that can be used not only in the mining industry but also in other industries and in other geological settings.”
The results of this investigation have positive impacts beyond the mining industry – it demonstrates the efficacy of tracer testing in complex geological settings, leading to better-informed decision-making regarding proposed mining activities.
As one of the world’s largest environmental consulting firms, we are committed to incorporating ESG in all our work and decarbonising our designs by halving their carbon footprint by 2030.
To learn how WSP can support your project, contact Andrea Madden.
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