You’ve probably heard about environmental drilling and wondered what it’s all about. This blog summarises what is environmental drilling, why you would use it on your site and trys to weigh up some of the pros and cons of this ground investigation method. Understanding both perspectives should help shape well informed decisions. So let’s dive in.
What Is Environmental Drilling?
Environmental drilling techniques are generally used to collect soil and groundwater samples for environmental site assessments and clean ups. The main methods are augering (solid or hollow flight), direct push soil sampling, sonic drilling and air rotary drilling.
Direct Push Drilling
Direct push soil sampling is the safest, easiest and most cost-effective way to obtain undisturbed soil samples. For good quality continuous soil sampling, you need high-quality soil sampling tools. At Matrix, we rely on trusted Geoprobe equipment to help get the job done safely & efficiently.
Air Rotary Drilling
Air rotary drilling (air hammer) uses compressed air to generally drill in rock. It is a quick, efficient method but can potentially contaminate samples by mixing cuttings in the hole if sampling is important. Air rotary drilling is often used to drill a hole in rock for monitoring well installations.
Other Methods
Solid stem auger and hollow stem auger can also be used. Auger drilling is inexpensive but can mix the soil making it hard to log and sample accurately, while sonic drilling uses high-frequency resonance to penetrate almost all formations.
The drilling method depends on factors like borehole depth, soil conditions, and sampling requirements. For instance, hollow stem auger drilling may be ideal for shallow boreholes in soft soil, whereas diamond core drilling is needed for hard rock at greater depths.
Why Use Environmental Drilling?
Environmental drilling allows assessment of soil and groundwater conditions both horizontally and vertically across a site. It provides vital data to determine the nature and extent of contamination, and the potential risks. Information from environmental drilling helps guide the development of effective remediation plans and long-term monitoring programs.
Though intensive, environmental drilling reduces the likelihood of making uninformed decisions that could pose environmental and legal issues down the track. When done properly using specialised equipment and experienced operators, it also minimises the risks of cross-contamination and disturbance of the site. Check out our environmental drilling services.
Should I Use Environmental Drilling for in & around Landfills?
When considering landfill management, environmental drilling can play a key role in ensuring safety, environmental protection, and effective waste management. Whether it’s for monitoring groundwater, managing gas emissions, or assessing the composition of the landfill, drilling provides essential data. Here are a few reasons why you may consider using Environmental Drilling in landfills, including:
Monitoring Groundwater
Drilling allows for the installation of monitoring wells to track the quality of groundwater around the landfill. This helps detect any potential contamination from leachate, which is the liquid that drains from the landfill.
Gas Management
Landfills produce gases like methane and carbon dioxide as organic waste decomposes. Drilling helps in installing gas extraction systems to capture and manage these gases, reducing the risk of explosions and minimizing greenhouse gas emissions.
Assessing Soil and Waste Composition
Drilling provides samples of the soil and waste within the landfill. These samples are analysed to understand the composition and potential hazards, which is crucial for planning remediation and closure activities.
The Pros of Environmental Drilling in Melbourne
ASSESSING and Preserving Groundwater Resources
Environmental drilling allows hydrogeologists to better understand Melbourne’s groundwater systems. By taking samples and monitoring water levels, engineers and scientists are able to gain insights into the quality and quantity of groundwater and the best ways to manage this precious resource sustainably. This helps ensure there is enough clean water for the environment and for future generations.
Rapid Data Collection
Modern drilling methods like sonic drilling can quickly penetrate deep into the ground. This allows scientists and engineers to rapidly collect soil, rock and groundwater samples for analysis. The fast collection of ground data helps with planning construction projects or monitoring potential hazards like contaminated land.
Cost-Effective Infrastructure Management
Environmental drilling provides an affordable way for local governments and utility companies to manage infrastructure like roads, bridges, pipelines and industrial land. By analysing soil and rock conditions below the surface, potential issues can be identified and addressed before causing major damage or posing unacceptable risk to humans and the environment.
When done responsibly, environmental drilling contributes to building a sustainable future for Melbourne. By better understanding the ground beneath the city, scientists/engineers and planners can make informed decisions that benefit both current and future generations.
The Cons of Environmental Drilling to Consider
There aren’t really too many disadvantages to Environmental Drilling. But, we’ve dug deep and come up with some things to consider. While environmental drilling offers many benefits, it does come with some disadvantages like noise and vibration that must be considered.
Drilling operations also require the use of lubricants and other chemicals that can potentially affect the ground if spilled or mishandled. Matrix Drilling uses well-maintained plant and equipment to ensure this risk is greatly reduced and carry spill kits where required.
Environmental Drilling Services: Soil & Groundwater Sampling, in-Situ Remediation Injection, Soil Vapour Bores Installation
Matrix Drilling provides essential environmental drilling services to help identify and remediate contamination in Melbourne. Their services include soil sampling and groundwater well installations, in-situ remediation injection, and installing soil vapour bores.
Soil and Groundwater Sampling
Matrix Drilling assists in extracting soil and groundwater samples for analysis to determine the nature and extent of contamination. They use advanced drilling techniques and their clients use sampling methods to collect representative samples from the required depths. Samples are then sent to an accredited laboratory by the client for chemical testing and analysis. The test results are used to assess potential risks and develop remediation plans.
In-Situ Remediation Injection
For contaminated sites requiring remediation, Matrix Drilling can inject chemicals into the soil and groundwater to break down or immobilise contaminants like hydrocarbons and heavy metals. They use direct push technology to place remediation fluids directly into the contaminated zone. In-situ remediation avoids the high cost and disruption of excavating and removing contaminated soil.
Soil Vapour Bores
Matrix Drilling installs soil vapour bores to monitor and test for volatile contaminants like petroleum hydrocarbons. The bores allow gases and vapours in the soil to be sampled and analysed. Soil vapour sampling is often used when there are concerns about vapour intrusion into buildings. The test results help assess risks and determine appropriate actions to prevent or mitigate exposure.
Environmental drilling provides invaluable insights into contamination issues. Matrix Drilling’s experience, expertise and advanced techniques have helped many Melbourne businesses and government organisations investigate and remediate contaminated land. Their end-to-end services, from initial site assessment and sampling through to remediation, provide integrated solutions for environmental management and compliance.
Conclusion
So there you have it – some pros and cons when it comes to environmental drilling in Melbourne. You’ve learnt about what environmental drilling is, how it works, and some of the benefits behind it. As you have probably learnt by now, the benefits will generally outweigh any negatives – something that you can keep in mind for your next site project