Water Well Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/643500
Grant Funds Study of Groundwater Contamination from Hydraulic Fracturing T he National Ground Water Research and Educational Foundation has awarded SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Utica, New York, a $6550 research grant to use probabilistic risk assess- ment and fault tree analysis (FTA) to evaluate potential groundwater degrada- tion from hydraulic fracturing. Both the principal investigator for the research project, Carolyn Rodak, Ph.D., and the coinvestigator, Xinchao Wei, are assistant professors in the College of Engineering at SUNY Polytechnic Institute. Their research aims to develop mod- els and data standards that bring to- gether scientific data to inform local policymakers and decision-makers— and assist local officials in responding to public concerns—about contamina- tion of drinking water from household wells. The researchers will use FTA to de- termine the probability of groundwater contamination or exploitation. Used in numerous engineering disciplines, FTA is a top-down approach based on the combination of probabilistically defined basic events. This approach identifies critical events and pathways that lead to failure and allows for relatively simple updating of information and recalcula- tion of the result. Georgia Association President Will Serve to 2017 Jim McClain of McClain Shallow Wells Inc. in Savannah, Georgia, was elected last fall as the 2015-2017 presi- dent of the Georgia Association of Groundwater Profession- als. McClain had served as the Association's statewide vice president and served on the board of directors for a number of years. McClain Shallow Wells, as the name implies, specializes in shallow wells drilled for residential purposes such as landscaping and gardening. He has done this for more than 37 years. Twitter @WaterWellJournl WWJ March 2016 17 Jim McClain IN YOUR BACK YARD With facilities across the country, you'll get the attention you deserve with our localized sales, service and expertise. 800-732-6762 www.atlascopco.us