ENVIRONMENTAL MODELING

The dispersion modeling of pollutants is a useful tool for the evaluation of environmental impacts, delimitation of area of influence, technical and operational decision making (chimney height, selection of control equipment, application of management measures, and internal routes for the material transport), comparison with the regulatory framework, among others. GESAMB LTDA offers within its services, air quality modeling using the AERMOD View software, regulated by the US EPA and considered as the latest generation model, for different projects: power generation, mining, road infrastructure, operation and materials processing, operation of ZODMES and sources of materials, construction and operation of ports and other development projects, considering the characteristics and needs of each project which include topography, land use, emission sources and social environment of the area where it develops.

The propagation of noise during the construction or operation of all types of projects can generate an impact on wildlife and nearby populations if noise levels increases or if the limit established by environmental regulations is exceeded. GESAMB LTDA offers acoustic modeling through CUSTIC software, under the method of calculation of ISO 9613, generating maps with the sound level in decibels that allows impact evaluation, technical and operational decision making in relation to the sources of noise.

Mathematical models are a useful tool to simulate the effect of a spill on a receiving water body, they can be uni, bi or three-dimensional depending on the complexity of the system to be modeled. One-dimensional models are generally used to represent water flows in rivers, the direction being considered the direction of runoff. Two-dimensional are used for large rivers, in which pollutant concentrations vary from one side of the riverbank to the other. On the other hand, three-dimensional models find application in groundwater studies and in more complex surface water systems. They require more information than uni and two-dimensional models and also more computational time, so their use is restricted to large-scale problems when sufficient resources are available for their application.

Since 2010 in Colombia, with the issuance of the National Policy for the Integrated Management of Water Resources, the management and administration of river basins has been a priority for environmental authorities, hence the modeling of water quality has been become a tool widely used in decision-making in relation to measures for the control of pollution and the integral management of water resources and for the prediction of possible impacts on the discharge of wastewater within the framework of the Environmental Assessment of Shedding (Decree 3930 of 2010 today compiled in Decree 1076 of 2015). GESAMB LTDA offers the application of one-dimensional mathematical models: Qual2k and HEC RAS that allow to determine the capacity of assimilation of biodegradable substances, identify the potential uses of the water resource, evaluate the fulfillment of the quality objectives and evaluate the impact caused by water discharges residual.