By: Kyle Carlton, PG, Senior Geologist
A question commonly posed to Directional Technologies from our environmental consulting clients: “Can one horizontal well be designed for more than one remedial application?” The answer is “yes.”
Horizontal wells are utilized for many diverse remedial methods: air/oxygen/ozone sparge, soil vapor extraction (SVE), multiphase extraction (MPE), in-situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) injection, bio-amendment injection, thermal remediation, hydraulic control, and more. The ability to combine two applications in a single well significantly augments the versatility and cost-effectiveness of site remediation.
Directional Technologies has completed numerous projects where the horizontal wells are used for multiple purposes. In most cases, significant contamination was present below buildings which required horizontal remediation wells to access the target contaminated zones.
Horizontal wells can be designed to provide conduits for injection, air sparging, and SVE beneath buildings. Horizontal injection wells can be used to treat vadose zone contamination with ISCO, bio-amendment injection, or high vacuum SVE.
Once the majority of the contaminate mass is removed from the subsurface with these methods, the horizontal wells can then be applied as vapor mitigation wells to protect the indoor air from any residual accumulating soil vapors.
Directional Technologies is a horizontal remediation technology company specializing in the design and installation of horizontal wells with directional drilling for the environmental industry. Our 25 years of experience enables us to work with our environmental consulting clients to engineer and install horizontal wells for multiple purposes. Using our proprietary well screen design software, our engineers specify the appropriate slot spacing, diameter, and percent open area for the horizontal well to be implemented for dual applications. Once the ideal design has been established, our experienced directional drilling team ensures proper installation, development, and completion of the horizontal wells.
During remedial planning, consider multi-purpose horizontal wells to cost-effectively bring your clients’ sites to closure.