SERVICES

• Groundwater Resources Analysis
• Contaminant Issues
• Watershed Hydrology
• Water Rights
• Expert Witness/litigation Support
• Peer Review


Mr. Ward has more than 25 years of professional hydrogeologic experience in the West and Southeast, and in the South Pacific. Professional responsibilities have included soils and groundwater contamination cleanups, groundwater resource assessments, flow and transport modeling, and isotopic chemistry. He has been qualified as an expert witness and has given testimony in deposition and in court. Mr. Ward has received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in science (hydrology) from the University of Arizona.

REGISTRATIONS

• Professional Geologist - Arizona and California
• Certified Professional Geologist - American Institute of Professional Geologists
• Certified Hydrogeologist - California

PROFESSIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS AND AFFILIATIONS

Mr. Ward was recently appointed as Associate Editor of the Journal of Ground Water, the premier technical publication for groundwater hydrologists. He served as peer reviewer for the Journal during the past 10 years.

• Associate Editor, Journal of Ground Water
• National Ground Water Association
• American Institute of Professional Geologists
• Member (1991), ASTM Ground Water Modeling Task Group
• American Geological Institute

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

Water Rights and Litigation Support

Mr. Ward is providing expert witness and litigation support for the U.S. Department of Justice on adjudication of Indian water rights in Arizona. He is also providing water rights adjudication support for the U.S. Forest Service on National Forest lands in northern Arizona, and for the National Park Service on the Colorado Plateau in Arizona. He is currently providing peer review and analysis for the Bureau of Reclamation regarding cost effectiveness of water projects associated with settlement of Federal reserved water rights.

Mr. Ward provided expert testimony on predictive impacts from groundwater withdrawals in defense of an Indian water rights claims, New Mexico, a case which was stipulated on behalf of tribe. He prepared a hydrogeologic and contaminant assessment and provided litigation support for a release of petroleum hydrocarbons that migrated off client’s property in Maui, Hawaii. This case was settled on favorable terms. Mr. Ward prepared a hydrogeologic and contaminant assessment for testimony in support of Innocent Landowner Defense, Concord, California. This case was settled in favor of our client.

Water Resources and Recharge

Mr. Ward has managed water resource development projects in many states, including Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, and New Mexico. These projects have included evaluation and numerical modeling of surface water and groundwater resources on three national forests in Arizona in support of water rights adjudication; developing deep wells to supply cooling water for new electrical power plant on Oahu; and design and installation of deep recharge wells for cooling water disposal.

He managed data collection and analysis and conducted flow modeling of San Juan Basin, New Mexico, and the Roswell Artesian Basin, New Mexico and defended this work as expert witness in court.

A problem with brine contamination of an eastern New Mexico river and downstream reservoirs was evaluated, and remedial options were assessed including the feasibility of depressurization of the brine aquifer via deep wells.

He also mapped and evaluated drinking water and deluge water supplies for a proposed space rocket launch facility on the island of Hawaii.

Dewatering

Mr. Ward specializes in evaluating and optimizing methods of water inflow control and dewatering. He has evaluated open pit inflow problems and strategies for preventing or alleviating pit instabilities at copper and phosphate mines in Arizona and Florida. He designed and installed shallow and deep (1,500 feet) dewatering/ recharge wells and constructed dewatering networks in advance of strip mining operations (central Florida).

He also conducted a dewatering investigation for a new Honolulu waterfront development, and designed a dewatering plan for excavation and replacement of a fuel oil line at Pearl Harbor.

Due to rising groundwater levels, a depressed section of a Los Angeles freeway was in danger of becoming undermined and inundated. Mr. Ward developed a range of dewatering scenarios and prepared numerical models to predict pumping rates, drawdowns, and water quality impacts.

Groundwater Modeling

A good model achieves specific objectives and answers well-defined questions; in the absence of a specific objective a model grows in size, complexity, and expense, while adding no additional understanding. Mr. Ward has more than 20 years of hands-on modeling expertise covering all aspects of numerical simulations, from regional groundwater flow, to site-scale transport and environmental fate simulations. He typically takes an Occam’s Razor approach to modeling, and works with clients and stakeholders to formulate and articulate goals and to design the type of model commensurate with those goals. Specific modeling experience includes:

Modeled regional aquifers in northern Arizona and in Eastern and Northwestern New Mexico in support of Federal reserved water rights adjudication. These models included stream flow interactions.

Designed and optimized well locations and pumping rates for multi-objective remedial well field consisting of 11 pumping wells, using numerical modeling. City of Industry, California.

Designed saturated/unsaturated flow model for siting of a Class I hazardous waste site, Arizona. Predicted vadose zone flow and transport under various release scenarios.

Managed study to determine sources of brine contamination of eastern New Mexico river and downstream reservoirs. Included geologic mapping, geophysical investigations, geochemical and isotopic determination of sources of brine contamination, and numerical modeling of brine removal scenarios.

Conducted numerical groundwater modeling of effects of proposed wellfield on water resources of Roswell Artesian Basin, New Mexico. Used stable isotopes and inverse modeling to assist model calibration. Defended this work as expert witness in court.

Developed conceptual dewatering scenarios and numerical models to predict pumping rates, drawdowns, and water quality impacts due to groundwater rising into 3-mile depressed section of interstate freeway, Los Angeles.

Superfund, Hazardous Waste, and Nuclear Waste

Progress on contaminated site cleanups is typified by its glacial slowness, due to many factors including the need for regulatory oversight and public input, but also due to factors the responsible party may control. Mr. Ward has worked with owners, regulators, and counsel to facilitate site characterization and cleanup. He has obtained No Further Action Closure for clients at large industrial sites with groundwater and soils contamination, and has assisted owners in negotiating cleanup levels and favorable positions within PRP groups. Representative experience includes:

No further action cleanup using soil vapor extraction at closed industrial facility, Los Angeles; and construction and operation of 11-well groundwater remediation system which also received no further action closure.

No further action cleanup of contaminated soils using soil vapor extraction over 11 acres at Burbank industrial site.

Management of a RI/FS at a closed Arizona landfill and state superfund site, and an RI/FS at an incinerator waste landfill in Honolulu.

Managed characterizations of RCRA hazardous waste sites in California and Oregon and achieved RCRA closure at the Oregon site.

Managed environmental activities including evaluation and remediation of fuel releases for Hawaii operations of major oil company. Developed procedures and conducted field tests for retrieval of crude and refined products floating on water table, oil refinery, Alaska.


PUBLICATIONS AND PRESENTATIONS

Ward, John J., 2002, Groundwater on the Plateau - Collaborative Effort Produces New Report on the C Aquifer. Southwest Hydrology Magazine. November-December 2002.

Hart, R., J.J. Ward, D. Bills and M.E. Flynn, 2002, Generalized Hydrogeology and Estimated Groundwater Budget for the C Aquifer, Little Colorado River Basin and Parts of the Verde and Salt River Basins, Arizona and New Mexico. U.S. Geological Survey Water Resources Investigation Report WRI 02-4026.

Ward, John J., 1998, Arid Zone Landfills – What do investigations and modeling of contaminant migration reveal about transport mechanisms? Arizona Hydrologic Society, 11th Annual Symposium.

Ward, John J., 1996, Choosing and managing your environmental consultant. Pima County Arizona Bar Association - Environmental Law Section.

Veggeberg, S. and J.J. Ward, 1986, Studies of vapor movement in the vadose zone and their implications for determination of leakage from underground storage tanks. Presented to Arizona Departments of Water Resources and Health Services. January.

Neuman, S.P., G.R. Walter, H.W. Bentley, J.J. Ward, and D.D. Gonzalez, 1984, Determination of horizontal aquifer anisotropy with three wells. Journal of Ground Water, vol 22, pp. 66-72.

Ward, John J., 1983, Heterogeneity and anisotropy in a fractured carbonate aquifer. Presented at American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting, San Francisco. December.

Walter, G.R., H.W. Bentley, J.J. Ward, and D.D. Gonzalez, 1983, Continuum and non-continuum aspects of groundwater movement at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, Southeastern New Mexico. EOS (abs), vol 64(45), American Geophysical Union.

Walter, G.R., J.J. Ward, and D.D. Gonzalez, 1983, Aquifer tests to determine the principal components of transmissivity in the Culebra Dolomite at hydropads H-4, H-5, and H-6: Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), southeast New Mexico. Sandia National Laboratories.

Walter, G.R., H.W. Bentley, and J.J. Ward, 1983, Field characterization of groundwater transport properties at the WIPP: Problems and progress. Workshop on Field Methods for the Assessment of Radionucliide Sorption.