groundwater protection

Rick Brassington has wide experience in groundwater protection both during his public sector employment and his career as a consultant. He has had involvement in defining the Source Protection Zones around a large number of public water supply sources for the Environment Agency. Wirth Arup Water, he worked on identifying practical solutions for the sources used by Yorkshire Water Services to supply the Scarborough area.

Nitrates in public water supply source
Yorkshire Water Services' groundwater sources based on the Chalk aquifer of the Yorkshire Wolds have steadily increasing nitrate concentrations for the past 30 years. The project, in conjunction with civil engineering consultant Arup, is to evaluate all aspects of alleviating the problem concentrating on the treatment options. Short-term advantages may be available by modifying the existing sources and their operation, which requires a detailed understanding of the hydrogeology and aquifer behaviour. The project involved a detailed analysis of a wide range of existing information and published scientific papers in order to complete the required assessment.

Evaluation of the impact of a new pumping sewer
The improvements to a rural sewerage scheme involved the construction of a long pumping main to connect individual villages to a sewage treatment works. The line of the new sewer runs close to a spring source used as a bottled water supply. The project was to assess the potential impacts of the sewer on the spring and to negotiate with the contractor on behalf of the client to ensure that adequate mitigation measures where put in place.