Without this investigation, you will not know the hazards located in the ground right beneath the site.
This type of investigation is also conducted enabling geo-environmental and geotechnical assessments of the land/ground’s condition. It’s also known as an analysis of the environmental and engineering considerations for a proposed development.
1. Who exactly needs the preliminary site investigation?
People don’t usually require a preliminary site investigation unless the PESA [Preliminary Environmental Site Assessment] shows that there are areas of concern.
PESA is known as the 1st step of this investigation, just like how Phase 1 is known as the first step for environmental due diligence.
Companies that are placing infrastructures, such as water mains and roads, must have a good understanding of the environmental conditions of the surrounding area. The pipelines and road projects are known to be linear and cross the “Rights of Ways” for the landowners.
Road widening work that occurs along a highway passes many gas stations, dry cleaners and industrial parks, which might consist of contaminated soil. Due to such reasons, the preliminary site investigation is conducted to identify the presence of contamination.
2. Why does the government show interest?
The government shows interest in testing the presence of contamination due to various reasons. These are:
Safety for workers
The government is pretty concerned about the contamination as many workers might get exposed to it. Both their safety and health will be at high risk if they are exposed to such contamination.
For that, the government must take several precautions to prevent such situations from occurring.
Spending fewer funds on hauling off contaminated soil
The government also performs the preliminary site investigation in Kelowna because they need to create a budget for their project. It’s because contaminated soil is extremely costly to haul off.
That’s why they need to opt for the “clean construction demolition debris,” where they don’t have to spend too much money to haul it off.
They can reuse this particular soil but must make sure that the soil is completely clean. That way, they don’t have to spend their funds to bring in backfill.
Keeping the pipelines clean
Contamination can also travel to different areas through pipelines. Due to such reasons, the PSI has become extremely compulsory. The investigation will let the government know whether the pipeline was travelling from a contaminated area and whether the contamination will spread to the adjacent properties.
Parting Thoughts
The preliminary site investigation in Kelowna is conducted to check the ground’s condition. Understanding the condition beneath the surface might give you an idea of whether or not construction work can be conducted in that area.