Groundwater remediation

Severe chromate contamination of the subsoil on the “Ex-Tugir” site in the town of Rivera in Ticino is to be removed on behalf of SBB and by order of the authorities. As an expert in the field of contamination and construction ground, GEOTEST Ltd is responsible for the preparation and implementation of the remediation project.

Rivera, Tessin
46° 07′ 34″ N, 8° 55′ 26″ E

2010 - today

Until about 60 years ago, the activities of a chemical company in Rivera led to large quantities of chromate (CrVI) being discharged into the subsoil. To this day, the quality of the groundwater and of the Leguana stream, which flows directly adjacent to the polluted site, is still affected.

GIG Rivera (a geological and engineering consortium consisting of GEOTEST Ltd, Schenker Richter Graf AG and Luigi Tunesi Ingegneria SA) is responsible for the elaboration and dimensioning of the remediation project, for the tender and permitting procedures and for construction supervision and specialist construction management during the execution.

As a first construction measure, an investigation campaign involving 107 core drillings and around 3,000 chemical subsoil samples was carried out to delineate the extent and depth of the contamination.

As the leading company in GIG Rivera, GEOTEST is responsible for the overall project management and overall coordination of the project. Within the scope of the execution, GEOTEST is also responsible for the specialist construction management concerning contamination, geotechnics and hydrogeology, as well as for monitoring.

As a first construction measure, an investigation campaign involving 107 core drillings and around 3,000 chemical subsoil samples was carried out in 2019 to delineate the extent and depth of the contamination. The extensive datasets were digitally recorded using customised applications and evaluated using 3D visualisations and numerical modelling.