Groundwater remediation: the next 30 years.

Groundwater remediation technologies are designed, installed, and operated based on the conceptual models of contaminant hydrogeology that are accepted at that time. However, conceptual models of remediation can change as new research, new technologies, and new performance data become available. Over the past few years, results from multiple-site remediation performance studies have shown that achieving drinking water standards (i.e., Maximum Contaminant Levels, MCLs) at contaminated groundwater sites is very difficult. Recent groundwater research has shown that the process of matrix diffusion is one key constraint. New developments, such as mass discharge, orders of magnitude (OoMs), and SMART objectives are now being discussed more frequently by the groundwater remediation community. In this paper, the authors provide their perspectives on the existing "reach MCLs" approach that has historically guided groundwater remediation projects, and advocate a new approach built around the concepts of OoMs and mass discharge.