‘Groundwater U’ Prepares Community to Weigh in on ETEC Cleanup

Groundwater U kicked off Jan. 23 with a community listening session focused on groundwater at SSFL. The session helped DTSC ensure the series content was tailored to community interests.

Matt Becker, a professor and Conrey Endowed chair of hydrogeology in the Earth Science Department at California State University, Long Beach, presented an overview of groundwater and hydrogeology, including what groundwater is and how it moves, during the first session on Feb. 20.

The second session on March 12 built on the first workshop, with Beth Parker and John Cherry discussing where groundwater contamination is at SSFL, a geologic formation called the Chatsworth formation and the transport of contaminants. More than 100 people attended the workshop to listen to the presentation and ask questions of DTSC, Boeing, and Parker and Cherry, who are professors at the University of Guelph in Canada and part of the SSFL groundwater advisory panels.

At the final workshop on April 4, representatives from DTSC, EM, NASA and Boeing discussed groundwater treatment options studied at SSFL, as well as groundwater interim measures, and pilot tests and treatability studies. More than 60 people attended the third workshop.

More information about Groundwater U, including recordings of past sessions and materials, can be found at DTSC's SSFL webpage. And click here for information about EM's work at Santa Susana.

-Contributor: Melissa Simon