International team to evaluate risks that proposed geological carbon sequestration could have on groundwater quality

MWH, a global company that provides environmental engineering, consulting and construction services, announced this week that it will work with the American Water Works Association Research Foundation and Schlumberger, an oilfield services firm, to investigate the potential impact that underground carbon sequestration will have on area groundwater supplies and identify where more research is needed. The project has been prompted by a new draft regulation from the EPA that provides for atmospheric carbon dioxide to be injected deep underground into geological deposits as a supercritical fluid. The EPA regulation is intended to reduce greenhouse gases by removing carbon dioxide from the air and injecting it thousands of feet below the level of area groundwater. Research is needed to determine the risk that carbon dioxide will leach out of geologic formations and contaminate groundwater.

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