On Monday, October 31st, PROTECT hosted the first webinar of the 2016-2017 academic schedule. This webinar featured Geary M. Schindel, P.G., Chief Technical Officer and Director of Aquifer Science for the Edwards Aquifer Authority, and President of Karst Works, Inc., who spoke on “Karst Aquifers – Water Quality, Vulnerability, and Public Health in a Complex Groundwater System.”
To view a recording of this presentation, please visit the WebEx link here.
Abstract
The US EPA has identified karst aquifers as one of the three types of aquifers most vulnerable to groundwater contamination. Many karst aquifers have a direct connection to the surface through sinkholes and sinking streams and provide little filtration or attenuation of contaminants. Karst aquifers are also noted for having groundwater velocities that may exceed more than a mile per day. High groundwater velocities and little attenuation of contaminants can result in rapid contamination of public and private water supply wells and springs. The presentation will give an overview of karst aquifers, describe groundwater vulnerability, and provide some case histories regarding problems in karst.
Biography
Geary Schindel is the Chief Technical Officer/Director of Aquifer Science for the Edwards Aquifer Authority in San Antonio, Texas. He is also President of Karst Works, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in karst resource evaluation. His previous positions include Director of Karst Hydrology with Eckenfelder, Brown, and Caldwell where he worked on RCRA and CERCLA (Superfund) NPL sites, solid waste landfills, and water resource projects including source water protection programs. Geary has also served as the Manager of Environmental Services for the Nashville, Tennessee ATEC office and the Manager of the Groundwater Branch for the Kentucky Division of Water. He has more than 35 years’ experience in the field of karst hydrology and has worked throughout the U.S and a number of foreign countries. He has performed more than 500 tracer tests in karst and has performed research and consulted on water related issues in Central and South America, consulted on projects for the World Bank and been an invited participant in UNESCO meetings in Bosnia and Australia. Geary holds an MS from Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green and a BS from West Virginia University in Morgantown. He is a Fellow and former Administrative Vice President of the National Speleological Society and a Fellow of the Geological Society of America. Geary has been a caver for more than 45 years.
To view a recording of this presentation, please visit the WebEx link here.