Turning PFAS data into decisions for the U.S. Air Force

Advanced data analytics and forensics framework 

AFCEC is currently testing CDM Smith's Advanced Data Analytics and Forensics Framework (ADAFF) at Dover Air Force Base. ADAFF is a process-based framework for compiling, organizing, and integrating data using digital tools for visualization and interpretation.

To deliver a streamlined data management and analytics solution, CDM Smith's subsidiary, Trinnex, implemented dataCAST™ to compile, analyze, and visualize AFCEC data for Dover AFB. dataCAST is a cloud-based platform for managing large and complex data and includes tools for AI and analytics. It provides data presentation via spatial and graphical digital dashboards to assess PFAS contamination at the former fire training area, integrating sampling data from soil, groundwater, and surface water.

The platform integrates 3D Leapfrog modeling to visualize PFAS distribution, fate, and transport to support risk assessment and selection of remedial technologies. For analytics, dataCAST includes a custom leaching model to assess leaching of PFAS from the vadose zone to the underlying groundwater table. The leaching model incorporates traditional principles for modelling hydraulic flux in the vadose zone in a simplified, mass balance framework. Like other popular screening models (i.e. EPA-DAF model, Remchlor-MD), this model has been experimentally validated and can provide a reasonably accurate approximation of PFAS mass flux from the vadose zone with minimal data requirements and less intensive calibration than traditional vadose zone models. 

A career-defining project

For Josh Soper, who had worked on PFAS projects for five years, this project became a turning point. By expressing his interest in data and coding and pursuing opportunities at CDM Smith to develop those skills, he found himself at the intersection of environmental engineering and software development. He's since moved into a new role as a product manager with CDM Smith's software subsidiary Trinnex, forging a career path aligned with his strengths.  

"What made this project meaningful for me was having real ownership over the product," Soper says. " Understanding what was requested, figuring out how to make it work, and seeing it actually happen… that was rewarding."

Working on this project taught Josh that successful implementation requires more than technical skills. "This project brings together environmental scientists, GIS specialists, groundwater modelers, and software developers working under completely different business models. It's challenging to bridge those worlds, but when you do it right, it's powerful."

One of the biggest lessons was communication. "If I'm trying to explain a software limitation to someone who is not a full-time software engineer, I need to be careful about not getting too technical. That goes both ways: software developers also appreciate the translation of PFAS concepts. I've combined my engineering foundation with my passion for data to become the translator between both worlds."

Empowering clients, not just serving them

The ADAFF framework enabled by dataCAST achieves three key objectives: it sources and compiles data using a "Data Library" platform, manages and links data, and reinterprets the data using advanced analytics such as chemical forensics.

"We're not trying to replace human expertise, we're trying to free it up," Josh explains. "Engineers shouldn't be recreating the same hundred graphs over and over when they could be doing analysis that actually requires their brain."

For the Air Force team at Dover, the platform has transformed daily operations. They can now monitor their data in real time and screen for any data exceedances or outliers to assess the latest trends at a particular site. Instead of constantly sending teams to the site to manually check, they know exactly when action is needed.

The platform also gives clients control over their own data. "In the past, if a client wanted to see their data visualized differently, they'd have to come back to us," Josh says. "With dataCAST, they can generate their own charts and tables in real time. It saves hours of back-and-forth and gives them control."

As a cloud-based platform with web interface and authentication, access can be customized for each project with permissions and roles assigned at the user level. dataCAST provides a comprehensive data management solution that enables users to perform multiple calculations and visualizations in real-time, with dashboard analytics that extract valuable insights and present them as maps, charts, and graphs.

"By doing so, we empower decision-makers to take meaningful action and positively impact the environment and the communities we serve," Tamzen adds.

Looking ahead

Josh's journey from water resources engineer to product manager reflects a larger shift: the recognition that solving complex environmental challenges increasingly requires not just engineering expertise, but the right tools to make that expertise more effective.

"I've had three different job titles while working on this project," he says. "They've all been relevant. It shows you just how multidisciplinary this work really is."

Looking ahead, Trinnex is integrating AI capabilities into the platform. "We're working on AI agents that can help analyze your data or pull up the exact standard operating procedures relevant to your treatment plant after a certain event," Josh says. "It's about making the software work for you, not the other way around."

When Josh talks to agencies considering similar tools, he offers straightforward advice: "Look critically at how many hours your teams spend on repetitive data work per month. If that number matters to you, we have the tools to bring it way down."

For the hundreds of other military installations facing PFAS challenges, that kind of intelligent, user-centered approach could make all the difference.