COSTS
So, what does this thing cost? That depends. Sorry, but it's true. Without knowing specific details regarding the application, it's difficult to tell you what you'll need. Rather than mislead potential customers with posted prices, it's best if you call or e-mail us, tell us your situation, and let us provide you with an appropriate configuration and an estimate. We'll even provide a comparison of VECTOR costs to conventional costs for your application so that you can make the most educated decision about your monitoring needs.
Some guy said that your stuff is expensive . . . It ain't cheap, that is, if you're comparing it to the purchase price of a good cup of coffee. If you figure in the enormous costs of all that is done in the name of uncertain ground water flow vectors, this technology is costs peanuts. Think about it: traditional ground water flow calculations yield values that range over several orders of magnitude. Consider the potential errors using standard methods from surveying and measuring, well effects and aquifer heterogeneities, uncalibrated equipment, in-field analysis, and statistical methods. Never mind the sources of error when you throw in a two-day pump test. Now consider those costs.
If this thing is so great, why isn't everybody using it? That's a good question. Part of it is a failure on our part to spread the word and educate potential users. In addition, it's almost a cliche that in a tightly regulated industry frought with potential liabilities, acceptance of a new technology is forced from the top down. While those actually doing the work are conservative with the risks they are exposed to, they will only use a new technology at the request of a client or a regulator and only if they are provided some relief from associated liabilities. At this point, many regulators and government entities from the local health department to the EPA are satisfied that the VECTOR is a proven technology and often demand its use on a variety of projects from the mundane to the high profile.
What advantages does the VECTOR have over conventional ground water flow measurement technologies? If all you wanted to do was no more than establish a simple one-time potentiometric map with no spatial or temporal constraints in an uncomplicated field area, the VECTOR would probably not be the most economical solution. PVC pipe is next to free and in some places, so is the drilling. If you're willing to live with a lot of uncertainty, getting a velocity using published K values is likewise, next to free. However, it doesn't take much to complicate a flow regime: throw in the element of time, a stream, or a recharge basin, or a recovery well and things get ugly fast. Here, the VECTOR will prove itself invaluable if you require a detailed 3-dimensional understanding of complex ground water interactions (at any point and) during the entire lifetime of your project. If you can't afford the expense of high drilling costs, specialized expertise, and ambiguous results, the VECTOR will perform. It won't solve all of your problems, you'll still have to pay your taxes, but it will provide you with the most cost-effective data and analysis possible.
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