Alpha Geoscience (Alpha Geological Services, Inc.) was founded in 1991 to provide specialized professional consulting services in the areas of geology, hydrology and environmental science. The professionals at Alpha have been working as consultants to industry and government since the middle 1970s. Alpha is committed to providing a full range of services that include project planning, field data collection and analysis, preparation of reports, expert testimony, regulatory negotiation and site remediation. Alpha's philosophy is to provide direct and cost-effective solutions while maintaining economic and environmental benefits.
Alpha Geoscience provides Geologic and Hydrologic Services in the Areas of:
- Water Supply and Water Resource Investigations and Development
o Pumping Tests and Pumping Test Analysis
o Well Rehabilitation
o Fracture Trace Analysis
o Ground Water Computer Modeling
- Ground Water and Surface Water Impact Assessments
o Subsurface Waste Water Disposal
o Water Budget Analysis
- Mining Hydrology, Impact Assessment and Permitting Services
- Air Photograph Interpretation
- Petroleum Spill and Petroleum Tank Site Investigations and Remediation
- Environmental Site Assessments for Property Transactions
- Investigation and Monitoring of Industrial Waste Sites
- Expert Opinions and Testimony
Alpha Geoscience provides consulting services to clients throughout the United States. Alpha has conducted subsurface investigations, coordinated remedial activities, provided field oversight, and negotiated work scopes for numerous sites. Additionally, Alpha is experienced in the implementation and administration of state and federal Solid Waste, Spills and Hazardous Waste programs and maintains a good working relationship with regulatory agency personnel. Alpha also provides expert technical support, opinions and testimony for a variety of mining and industrial clients who are dealing with mineral resource, ground water resource, hazardous waste, and environmental impact issues.
Water Supply Investigation and Water Resource Development
Alpha Geoscience identifies potential surface water and ground water sources and investigates the suitability of the supplies for drinking and/or processing purposes depending on the client needs. Alpha provides services that range from initial scoping of client needs through water supply investigation, development, rehabilitation and gaining regulatory approval, as needed for clients that include:
- Municipalities
- Seasonal recreational facilities.
- Industrial sites.
- Residential developments.
- Private residences.
Projects are often undertaken in phases depending on the stage of the project when Alpha is asked to participate. Alpha personnel are experienced in the full range of water supply/resource services that include:
- Source identification (Phase I Investigation), which can include aquifers, springs and surface water bodies.
- Source quantity and quality assessment (Phase II Investigation).
- Securing Department of Health and Department of Environmental Conservation approvals, if required.
- Source development.
- Well field rehabilitation.
Projects involve a variety of tasks which vary depending on the type of water source, the relative size of the source, the required quantity/quality, potential impacts of the source use on others who rely on the source, potential impacts by others on the source quality or quantity, and the condition of the source/supply if it is a pre-existing system requiring maintenance or upgrades. Alpha personnel are trained and have extensive experience in:
- Fracture trace analyses. (See below)
- Aquifer delineation, testing and analysis.
- Subsurface hydrogeologic investigation.
- Well installation and development.
- Pumping tests (See below) to evaluate well capacity, aquifer yields, well field production capacity and long term safe yields.
- Well rehabilitation.
- Stream and spring flow measurements, water quality testing, and spring yield analysis.
- Assessment of recharge areas for spring and aquifer systems.
- Ground water computer modeling.
- Preparation of reports to provide results of investigations and testing and to obtain regulatory approval of potable water supplies.
Fracture Trace Analysis
Alpha Geoscience personnel have extensive experience and training in the application of fracture trace analysis to locate potential sources of ground water and to identify zones of ground water flow in bedrock. The technique involves identifying linear features on topographic maps and air photographs that likely represent fracture zones in bedrock.
Alpha applies this technology to locate ground water in bedrock for clients that need:
- Process and drinking water at large industrial sites.
- Drinking water for municipalities and other public or private institutions.
- Drinking, irrigation and/or snow/ice production at recreational facilities.
- Defining ground water flow zones to determine pathways of potential migration of contaminants away from a source and/or toward a receptor.
- Defining bedrock flow zones that control the orientation and extent of drawdown effects from pumping wells and dewatering operations.
Pumping Tests and Pumping Test Analysis
Pumping tests are one of the most effective tools for evaluating ground water resources, hydraulic characteristics of geologic formations and the performance of production and recovery wells. Alpha Geoscience personnel routinely conduct constant rate and step rate pumping tests to:
- Evaluate well yield and the aquifer response to ground water withdrawal.
- Predict long term yield potential of wells and aquifer systems
- Assess the interference effects from simultaneous pumping at multiple wells.
- Evaluate hydraulic characteristics of geologic formations.
- Calculate the hydraulic parameters required for ground water modeling.
- Evaluate the interaction between ground water and surface water systems.
- Provide a benchmark for well performance and evaluating apparent losses in well-yield.
- Delineate source water areas and defining well head protection zones
Alpha Geoscience personnel have developed highly technical analytical skills and use computer software to determine aquifer properties from pumping test data. The tasks performed by Alpha for pumping tests and aquifer studies include:
• Develop testing requirements commensurate with project objectives.
• Identify, obtain bids, and contract qualified well drilling/testing contractors.
• Identify regulatory requirements for well permitting.
• Collect pumping test data using programmable recording equipment.
• Collect samples for field and laboratory water quality analysis.
• Graphical and computer analysis of pumping test data.
