IRP Water LLC
Consultants in Hydrogeology and Water Resources
Nothing can replace first-hand experience...
... knowledge gained and lessons learned over the course of a scores of diverse projects over the last four decades provides insights that can quickly lead to solutions to challenging problems ...
Experts in Applied Hydrology and Hydrogeology
Based in the US Southwest and Peru, IRP Water LLC delivers innovative and practical solutions in water resources engineering and hydrogeology. We apply cutting edge tools in borehole methods, aquifer testing, and airborne geophysics for hydrogeologic characterization, and we develop and apply integrated hydrologic - hydrogeologic modeling for a wide range of societal problems.
Our past project portfolio includes:
Basin & Regional Water Management: Executing sustainable water resources strategies and managing the complex conjunctive use of surface water and groundwater systems.
Mine Water Management: Advanced engineering for deep mine dewatering, tailings management, and tracking waste rock seepage dynamics.
Vadose Zone Hydrology & Recharge: Quantifying unsaturated zone processes, vadose zone hydrology, and managing artificial and natural aquifer recharge.
Contamination & Remediation: Precision characterization and remediation of complex groundwater contamination plumes, including specialized radioactive waste management.
Agricultural & Regulatory Water Policy: Delivering targeted agricultural water management solutions and navigating high-stakes water rights frameworks.
Water is the blood of all Earth's life
Current and future water-related challenges are location and time specific, and can vary from providing water supplies to rapidly growing communities, addressing competition between cities, agriculture, and environmental water needs to access scarce supplies, to dealing with floods and prolonged droughts, and developing management schemes to build resiliency in the face of climate change, among others.IRP Water LLC offers the following key services to address these challenges:
Advanced Field Characterization: Designing and executing custom field data + laboratory data collection and site characterization programs to anchor models in real-world hydrogeology.
Quantitative Hydrologic Data Analysis: Synthesizing complex subsurface data to uncover hidden aquifer trends and define clear system parameters.
Predictive Hydrological Modeling: Developing physics-based numerical models that map the critical nexus between complex hydrologic systems and specific client challenges.
Sustainable Water Management Solutions: Providing bulletproof data architectures and predictive scenarios to empower operational managers and executive decision-makers.
IRP Water Associates
Over the course of a 40 year professional career, IRP Water principal engineer Dr. Jim McCord, PE, has had the privileged to work with extremely creative and competent engineers and hydrogeologists. It began with his older brother John, basin-scale hydrogeologist extraordinaire, providing Jim a Summer initern opportunity on a hydrogeologic characterization program of the Naval Oil Shale Reserve (NOSR-1) in 1980. John continued to inspire Jim as they both moved forward on distinct paths in hydrogeology, with both of them attending grad school in the renowned New Mexico Tech hydrology program. Their collaborations over the decades eventually led to the formation of Inca Road Partners LLC seeking to develop and work together on projects in New Mexico and Peru. John sadly passed in 2021 just as the consulting business was getting off the ground.To this day, Dr. McCord has maintained excellent relations and continues to collaborate with his network of colleagues in the water resource consulting world. IRP partners and collaborators include:
- Envis Peru ( envis.com.pe )
- Lynker Technologies (lynker-intel.com)
- GSI Water Solutions (https://gsiwatersolutions.com/ )
- One-Water Hydrologic ( https://one-waterhydrologic.com/ )
- Todd Groundwater ( toddgroundwater.com )
- New Mexico Bureau of Geology
Services / Clients
Over the decades, Dr. McCord has work across a number of areas where hydrology and hydrogeology play a key roles. Early in his career there was more of a focus on contaminant hydrogeology, and in the last 25 years there has been a greater emphasis on sustainable groundwater managment at the basin scale and mine water management (which itself includes an important contaminant hydrology component). Below is a partial list services offered and of important clients over the years.Sustainable Groundwater Management (Basin-scale groundwater models, Linked surface water - groundwater models, hydrologic impacts of water transfers, crop water use, managed aquifer recharge, water rights, water adjudications) - City of Boulder Colorado, Denver Water, New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission, Tulare Lake Basin GSA, Navajo Nation Dept. of Justice, Renewable Resources Group, Santa Barbara County Water Agency, San Luis Obispo County Groundwater Sustainability Program
Mine Water Management (tailings and waste dump seepage, pit dewatering, acid mine drainage, water balance modeling, mine EIAs) - Freeport McMoran, Barrick Gold, BHP, Codelco, Minera Pelambres, Lundin Gold, Glencore Resources (Antapaccay), Rio Tinto, Mining & Minerals Group, Yamana Gold, Appian Capital Advisory, Osisko Metals
Groundwater Contamination (site characterization, flow and transport modeling, site remediation, radioactive waste management, Natural Resource Damage Claims) - US Dept. of Justice, CSX Railroad, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Mineras Activas, Colorado Attorney General, RhoChem, Sandia National Labs, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, U.S. Department of Energy
Water Resource Impact Studies (Environmental Impact Assessments in support of Hydroelectric Projects, Forest Management, Land Development) - US Bureau of Reclamation, US Forest Service, New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission, ISAGEN Energia (Colombia), Hydroelectric EIRL (Peru), Andrade - Gutierrez Constructores, Saudi Geological Survey
Get in touch
Please contact Dr. Jim McCord, IRP Water Principal Engineer and Hydrogeologist, if you have any questions or need help solving a water resource challenge. He will help identify solutions, and if necessary assist you in recommending the right specialist or team from his many associates.
Thank you
Thanks for your interest
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