The emergency response team concluded that:

Of greatest concern was the release of dissolved chromium to the environment.  To learn more about chromium and CCA wood preservative click on the References tab on the navigation bar and select Chromium. For the purposes of this exercise the soluble chromium is moving with the ground-water flow system from the spill site toward the Buffalo River. If the contaminants reach the river, it will not be long before the River City water supply would be unusable even with dilution. Under the Resources tab, click on site tour to view the spill site and review other data about the site vicinity.

The pipeline owner faces heavy fines for allowing the spill to happen. He is also liable for all damages, and would have to declare bankruptcy if River City had to stop using the river for its water supply. It is likely that he would be sued for damages by the city or the state environmental regulatory agency.

You have been hired as an environmental consultant by the pipeline owner to locate and remove the contamination from the aquifer before it reaches the Buffalo River.