Groundwater Consulting Services

Monitoring Unit Objectives

To provide a reliable, technically sound and cost effective monitoring service, so that organisations can evaluate existing and potential impacts on the natural resources.
To supply and collate monitoring data as an aid in predicting trends associated with existing and proposed infrastructure that may affect the environment.
To supply accurate, reliable data with fast and efficient service to all industries.
To provide expert interpretation of results for identification of environmental contamination or water pollution.
To supply records and documentation as required by legislation to the client and to the Authorities on the client’s behalf in a format acceptable to both parties.
To promote the compliance of industry to environmental standards and policies.

Surface and Groundwater Monitoring

GCS specialise in all forms of groundwater monitoring. Some of the services offered include:

Groundwater sampling from all sizes of monitoring boreholes and piezometers
Groundwater geochemical monitoring
Down the hole (in-situ) geochemical and water level monitoring
Groundwater profiling
Borehole geophysical investigations (gamma-gamma profiling, fracture logging, calliper-tool)

GCS also offer a complete surface water monitoring service which covers all chemical, biological and bacteriological constituents.

Geochemical Soil Monitoring

Supported by in-house earth science specialists, GCS offers the following soil monitoring services:

In-situ monitoring of soil moisture/water holding capacity
In-situ permeability evaluations
Soil nutrient status evaluations
Bio-remediation investigations

Annual EMP Audits

The Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (Act 28 of 2002) requires that all operational mines:

Undertake ongoing monitoring of their Environmental Management Programme (EMP)
Undergo an annual environmental audit of their EMP to assess compliance with the requirements stipulated in the EMPR and address continued appropriateness and competence of the EMP

GCS has a number of experienced staff members who are able to conduct such monitoring and auditing functions and ensure submission of regular reports to the relevant Authorities.

Aquatic Bio-Monitoring

Specialist fauna and flora monitoring is offered by GCS. This service also includes Aquatic Ecological Impact Assessments utilising the rapid bio-assessment method (SASS).

SASS is used to determine the state of the invertebrates of a specific site, and compares the results with reference or benchmark sites.

Data obtained from such studies and monitoring is used to update the national river monitoring programme.

Air Quality Monitoring

GCS specialises in the design and implementation of air quality monitoring systems, including:

Gravimetric Dust
Noise
Lux

Additional Expertise

GCS are also capable of offering specialised surveys and monitoring services such as:

Monitoring of pollution incidents and accident sites
Effluent discharge monitoring and toxicity testing
Bio-remediation investigations