Level of Education of Students Involved

Undergraduate

Faculty Sponsor

Haydar Cukurtepe

College

College of Engineering (COE)

Discipline(s)

Environmental Engineering

ORCID Identifier(s)

0000-0002-4670-4877

Presentation Type

Poster Presentation

Symposium Date

Spring 4-2026

Abstract

Groundwater contamination from leaking underground storage tanks (USTs) poses a significant risk to nearby drinking water supplies, particularly in rural areas where private wells are common. One UST can hold over 100,000 liters (30,000+ gallons) of abandoned gasoline according to Geo Forward, a provider of environmental services, information, and news. Tt is estimated that there are over 500,000 USTs abandoned throughout the United States, capable of leaking into the groundwater.

In this study, the transport of liquid petroleum from a leaking UST towards a downgradient residential well was evaluated based on the effectiveness of various protection strategies. Four mitigation scenarios evaluated are: natural attenuation, hydraulic containment well, impermeable cutoff wall, and soil vapor extraction on the dissolved plume. A retardation-based model is developed to simulate contaminant migration through a distance of several kilometers.

Numerical methods will be used to estimate the time it takes for the contaminated groundwater to enter the well and exceed the limits of contaminants allowed in drinking water set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as well as quantify the reduction achieved by the protection strategies. The results provide insight into long-distance groundwater contamination risks from abandoned fuel infrastructure and offer guidance for selecting effective protective measures for vulnerable drinking water sources.

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