‘Slug tests’ are are commonly used as part of a risk assessment to help us determine groundwater contaminant flows. In this case groundwater and dissolved petroleum hydrocarbon horizontal flow velocity and contaminant transport risk offsite from a facility to the north of Sydney.
Our graduate Jessica showed her handy skills by putting together this beautifully simple slug. Slugs are essentially a device for displacing water in a well for testing hydraulic conductivity. With a little knowhow and some simple materials from Bunnings, an aquifer slug suitable for this test comprised of:
- 1 x bag of heavy duty white washed sand
- 1 x Class 12 40 mm x 1 m PVC Pipe
- 2 x 40 mm PVC cap ends
- 1 x small primer and PVC cement solvent glue
- 1 x ring hook
- 1 x roll of heavy duty string
Its was good news for our client too, as it showed there was low risk to the offsite creek 100 m to the north.
