Luhdorff & Scalmanini
Luhdorff & Scalmanini, Consulting Engineers is a consulting and services organization assisting public agencies, corporations, and private companies in the evaluation, development, protection, use, and management of ground-water resources for domestic, agricultural, and industrial use.
Luhdorff & Scalmanini, Consulting Engineers (LSCE) was founded in 1980 to fill a recognized need for technical and management expertise in a broad range of problems associated with ground_water resources. LSCE maintains a staff of 30 professional and support personnel and conducts all its operations from its office in Woodland, California. LSCE has maintained a broad client base since its founding and continues to provide engineering, hydrogeologic and related services to municipalities, water districts, other public agencies, and corporate and private interests throughout the State of California and other western states.
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With particular interest and experience in the development and management of ground_water resources, Luhdorff & Scalmanini, Consulting Engineers offer specialized consulting services:
......Ground_Water Resource Evaluation
Assessment of the quantity and quality of ground_water resources is a necessary component of many projects. Consideration is given to the broad range of factors affecting ground water, which include the geology, hydrology, water quality, natural and artificial recharge, legal considerations, and institutional constraints. When assessing the development potential in an area, ground-water evaluations are conducted to develop a thorough understanding of the impacts on water resources.
......Water Resources Development and Management
Ground-water management programs are often required to guide the development, production, and use of ground-water resources, often in conjunction with surface water resources, and constrained by environmental and legal considerations. In all cases, an effective water management program should include a monitoring program providing data that can be used to regularly update operational criteria in order to maintain optimal performance standards. In many cases, ground-water models are used in the formulation of management programs. Such models can improve understanding of the system to be managed and highlight the impacts associated with alternative management approaches.
......Ground-Water Modeling
Ground-water models are used in both ground-water management and contamination studies. The models are based on analytical, numerical, or statistical methods, depending on their purpose and the availability of data. As part of the modeling process, emphasis is placed on the development of a sound conceptual model and the proper application of model assumptions. When interpreting the results of simulations, it is also important to acknowledge the model's limitations.
...... Soil and/or Ground_Water Monitoring and Contamination
Evaluation
Increasing concern for the protection of ground_water resources dictates the need for effective monitoring programs. Such programs must recognize geologic and hydrologic characteristics at each site. Identification, evaluation, and management of ground_water
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contamination includes hydrologic analysis of the ground-water flow system, which permits identification of alternatives for appropriate control, extraction, and treatment techniques. Contaminant transport modeling and capture-zone analysis are used to simulate remediation options such as extraction well networks.
......Water Well Design, Construction, Operation, and Maintenance
All wells require good engineering, operation, and maintenance. Particularly in a time of concern for conservation of water and energy resources, application of proper design and construction techniques is essential to guarantee hydraulically efficient and sand-free well structures. Proper operation within an optimal design range of discharges is also essential to efficient performance. Well maintenance, whether routine or major rehabilitation, is both necessary and more commonly accepted as an effective tool to retain high performance and low operating cost, and to defer or avoid capital replacements.
......Pump Equipment Design, Application, and Operation
To achieve optimal efficiency and capacity, pumping equipment must be designed and operated for the particular characteristics of each individual application. Particularly in ground_water installations, consideration of aquifer and well performance characteristics, as well as those of surface facilities, is essential in design. Mechanical performance and prime mover design add to the components contributing to efficient performance and associated low operating and maintenance costs.
......Water Distribution System Analysis and Design
Planning distribution system improvement for new or replacement mainlines requires a thorough knowledge of demand and head requirement or existing system performance. If improperly sized, new or replacement mainlines can be the source of continued costly operational problems and can also result in excessive energy consumption. A water distribution network analysis provides a tool for planners, engineers and operational personnel to use in making decisions on mainline size selection and make appropriate plans for the capital investments required for a new or replacement mainline. A network analysis will also indicate areas that may require special design considerations such as pressure reducing valves or booster pump assemblies. To ensure the analysis is correct, field testing must follow to verify modeling parameters. Additionally, a practical knowledge of the operation and maintenance of water distribution systems is required to ensure not only proper sizing of facilities, but the proper selection of appropriate materials, installation procedures and testing are made and will result in lower operational and maintenance costs.
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......Water Treatment Facilities
More stringent Federal and State water quality and treatment regulations require the installation of advanced water treatment equipment for ground water and surface water supplies. When planning and designing treatment systems, existing and proposed treatment requirements should be considered. An important part of the design phase includes evaluation of historic water quality. Safety, accessibility, reliability, simplicity, and efficiency in both operation and the treatment process are also essential components of the total facility design.
......Construction Administration
Experienced construction administration provides for a successful project by ensuring that the project is constructed as intended by the designer, the performance parameters of the specified equipment is adhered to and change orders or cost overruns are eliminated or kept to a minimum. Construction administration begins prior to the bidding process by providing prospective bidders with a comprehensive understanding of the scope of the project. This results in better planning for the use of the contractor's labor, material and equipment needs and frequently results in more competitive bids.
During the construction process, experienced construction inspectors can assist with the early recognition of construction problems which may require a change in methodology or equipment and facilitate resolution of contractual questions and concerns, especially with projects that have multiple contractors requiring precise coordination.
Construction administration can also include operational assistance and training.
......Computer Aided Design
LSCE has two dedicated CAD workstations equipped with digitizers and color printing and plotting equipment. These are used to produce a wide variety of graphics including maps, cross-sections, well profiles, and pump station layouts. Maps are constructed for basin-wide studies showing topographic and geologic features, well locations, ground-water level and quality contours as well as for contaminated-site studies showing site features, monitoring-well networks, ground-water elevation contours, and zones of ground-water and soil-gas contamination. Other CAD applications include integrating the graphical output of ground-water flow models with base maps to aid in aquifer-system evaluations. In addition, LSCE produces geologic cross sections and fence diagrams for projects ranging from individual site assessment work to basin studies. LSCE also has an automated well-profile program for presenting well lithology and construction details.
In addition to CAD software, LSCE staff use a variety of software packages to produce report and presentation quality graphics for all projects. This software includes spreadsheets, 2-D and 3-D contouring programs, and statistical packages, as well as programs for interpreting aquifer-test data and performing hydraulic analyses for designing pump systems and production wells.
......Sampling and Aquifer Testing
LSCE project and field personnel have OSHA Hazardous Waste Operations training and are experienced in decontamination and sampling protocols related to hazardous site investigations. Field personnel use specialized sampling equipment for developing, purging, and sampling wells, and for conducting well and aquifer tests. A portable sampling rig has been designed and constructed by LSCE and is equiped with 2" and 4" submersible pumps and an air compressor for airlift pumping. This unit also contains a steam cleaner for on-site equipment decontamination.
LSCE routinely conducts well tests on newly constructed water supply wells in order to gather information regarding hydraulic performance. These tests are important for assessing well performance and for developing pump design requirements.
Data on production rate, drawdown, and specific capacity at various production rates collected during these tests are used to design tests to determine aquifer characteristics as a basis for ground-water resource assessments and specific well evaluations.
