Hydrogeological conceptual site models (CSMs) adapted to the environmental field are often not used or are underutilized when completing contaminated site investigation and remediation work. CSMs can be an effective tool even in the earliest stages of a contaminated sites investigation when no intrusive geologic, hydrogeologic, or chemistry data has been collected. If used at this stage, the CSM can be a powerful tool to help guide and plan subsequent investigation work and ultimately remediation / risk assessment of contaminated sites.

Several case studies will be presented where CSMs helped guide the site investigation and remediation process at contaminated sites to more effectively understand the physical and contaminant processes occurring while meeting and perhaps exceeding regulatory requirements. Ultimately, we demonstrate through the case studies why it is important to construct CSMs and how they can assist site investigators and remediation experts in conducting effective, cost efficient site investigations and reduce the potential for misinterpretation of data that could otherwise lead to not identifying risks from contamination.