Built to spec
Built to your engineered drawings, survey, and the real site conditions, not a one-size-fits-all approach forced to fit.
Commercial & Heavy-Civil Construction
Environmental Drilling
We advance environmental boreholes, collect representative soil and groundwater samples, install monitoring points, control investigation-derived material, and decommission holes for commercial, industrial, municipal, and heavy civil sites across Toronto, the GTA, and Ontario.
- Licensed, Insured & WSIB-Covered
- 20 Years in Business
Get a Quote
Tell us what you need and we’ll get you a quote. Licensed, insured & WSIB-covered · Free, no-obligation quote & on-site assessment.
Get a Quote
Licensed, insured & WSIB-covered · Free, no-obligation quote & on-site assessment.
20 Years in Business
Licensed, Insured & WSIB-Covered Completed to code & Ontario requirements Completed on site and built to the drawings Performed & installed on site across Ontario
Why Harrowgate Group
What to expect from environmental drilling
Made to last
Durable materials and methods chosen for the load, traffic, and environment on site.
Quote-ready
Send specs, drawings, or photos and get a free, no-obligation site visit and estimate with no guesswork.
Code-conscious
Installation and site work completed in accordance with Ontario requirements.
Our Process
How we plan and deliver environmental drilling
Environmental drilling investigates soil, fill, bedrock, and groundwater for contaminants while controlling cross-contamination between depths and locations. Harrowgate operates drilling and sampling equipment directly for Toronto and GTA consultants, developers, municipalities, and industrial owners, following the qualified person’s written program and site-specific health controls.
- 01 Send your inquiry, a few photos or a description of the site.
- 02 We come out, assess the site, take measurements, and confirm the scope.
- 03 We complete the environmental drilling on site, to the load and finish the job needs.
- 04 We install it, finish to grade, and clean up, one accountable crew, start to finish.
Local Context
A closer look at environmental drilling
Scope
Understanding environmental drilling
How we execute an environmental borehole program
We review the sampling plan and utility clearance, establish surveyed or traceable borehole locations, prepare containment, advance the selected tooling, recover and label samples by depth, record drilling conditions, manage cuttings and water, complete the hole or install the well, and restore the surface.
The environmental consultant directs sample selection and laboratory submissions. Our driller maintains accurate run lengths, recovered interval, refusal, groundwater observations, tooling changes, and quantities of added water. Samples are transferred with clean tools into specified containers, kept under required temperature and custody controls, and linked to unique identifiers. Investigation-derived soil, purge water, and wash water are contained in labelled drums, bins, or tanks pending characterization. At each location, photographs and field notes capture the surface, drilling setup, recovery, completion, and restoration.
Ontario environmental and well requirements
Environmental drilling is coordinated with O. Reg. 153/04 where the work supports a Phase Two ESA or record of site condition, R. R. O. 1990 Reg. 903 for regulated test holes and monitoring wells, CSA Z769 where specified, Ontario construction safety requirements, and the qualified person’s sampling plan.
O. Reg. 153/04 requires the investigation record to identify each borehole or test pit, contractor and equipment, measures used to minimize cross-contamination, and sampling frequency. Reg. 903 requires onsite logs and field notes for applicable well work, secure covering of unattended openings, construction and sealing provisions, and records unless an exemption applies.
We also follow municipal access, noise, road occupation, excess soil, and utility requirements. Soil and groundwater results are interpreted against the site-specific Ontario criteria selected by the qualified person, not by the drilling crew.
Failures that invalidate environmental data
Environmental data becomes unreliable when dirty tooling carries contamination downward, drilling fluid alters chemistry, samples mix across intervals, volatile samples are mishandled, borehole locations drift, or cuttings leave an uncontrolled pathway. We prevent these failures through method selection, clean handling, detailed records, and compliant completion or abandonment.
Fill containing rubble can smear material down an open auger hole. A sonic run can heat or disturb sensitive samples if production outruns the sampling plan. Added water can obscure formation water unless its quantity and source are recorded. We communicate these limitations immediately so the consultant can adjust.
Surface spills and wash water are contained, and holes are never left as open conduits. If refusal occurs above target, the team records the obstruction and decides whether to relocate, change tooling, or terminate, rather than assigning an assumed depth.
Planning environmental drilling? Talk it through with our team.
Where environmental drilling is used
Environmental drilling supports Phase Two ESAs, brownfield redevelopment, spill delineation, source-area investigation, risk assessment, remediation design, underground tank sites, industrial closure, landfills, utility corridors, excess soil programs, and groundwater monitoring. Programs range from one targeted location to staged grids across a large property.
At former fuel sites, the program may target tank nests, dispensers, fill ports, product lines, and downgradient groundwater. Industrial investigations follow process areas, drains, pits, chemical storage, and historical buildings. Redevelopment work must also distinguish imported fill, native soil, and bedrock. Tight urban locations can require low-clearance or limited-access rigs, roadway traffic control, and careful utility daylighting. We coordinate mobilization and investigation-derived waste so sampling can proceed without disrupting occupied operations.
Have drawings for environmental drilling? Send them over and we will scope it.
FAQ
Environmental Drilling FAQ
What drilling methods are used for environmental site investigations?
Common methods include direct push for rapid discrete soil or groundwater sampling, hollow-stem auger for soil sampling and well installation, sonic drilling for continuous recovery through difficult fill, and rotary methods for competent bedrock. Access, geology, target depth, contaminants, sample quality, and well design determine the method.
How do you prevent cross-contamination between boreholes?
We follow the written decontamination procedure, sequence locations deliberately, remove soil from tooling, wash and rinse contact surfaces between intervals or holes, use dedicated or disposable components where specified, and contain wash water. Field blanks or rinsate samples are collected by the consultant when included in the quality program.
Who decides where environmental samples are collected?
The qualified person or environmental consultant designs the investigation and selects analytical samples based on conceptual site conditions, observed geology, field screening, and regulatory objectives. Harrowgate advances the holes, recovers samples, documents intervals and drilling conditions, and promptly communicates refusal, poor recovery, odour, staining, or other relevant observations.
What happens to soil cuttings and drilling water?
Investigation-derived soil, groundwater, purge water, and decontamination water are collected separately as the plan requires, labelled, stored securely, characterized, and sent to an approved receiving or treatment route. Material is not spread across the site or discharged merely because the drilling volume is small.
Can environmental drilling be done inside an operating building?
Yes, using suitable low-clearance or compact equipment, ventilation, floor protection, utility scanning, concrete coring, noise and dust controls, and investigation-derived waste containment. The work plan must address overhead services, slab reinforcement, process lines, occupied areas, emergency routes, and how the borehole will be sealed and restored.
Does every environmental borehole become a monitoring well?
No. Some boreholes are sampled and abandoned after logging, while selected locations receive wells based on groundwater objectives. A well needs a documented screen interval, filter pack, annular seal, protective completion, development, survey, and maintenance plan. Borehole closure follows applicable Reg. 903 and investigation requirements.
What information is needed to plan environmental drilling?
Provide the investigation plan, target coordinates and depths, anticipated geology, analytes, well details, utility information, access and clearance, pavement or slab thickness, soil and water handling plan, traffic needs, work hours, and restoration standard. Refusal risk, contaminated cuttings, tight access, and disposal requirements affect scope.
Still have a question about environmental drilling? Ask our team directly.
Explore
Related Harrowgate services
Monitoring wells, for groundwater levels and sampling
Logged boreholes and discrete soil samples, logged boreholes and discrete soil samples
Direct visual investigation at shallow depth, direct visual investigation at shallow depth
Coordinated Phase Two ESA field programs, coordinated phase two esa field programs
Compliant closure of investigation wells, compliant closure of investigation wells
Our Work
View Our Projects See real projects across Toronto & Ontario
Commercial and heavy-civil construction delivered for developers, contractors, property managers, and municipalities.
Get a quote for environmental drilling
Send drawings, a site plan, or a description of the scope. Harrowgate Group is licensed, insured, and WSIB-covered.
Licensed, Insured & WSIB-Covered, work managed and documented on every job
Send your project details
Tell us what you need and we’ll get you a quote. Licensed, insured & WSIB-covered · Free, no-obligation quote & on-site assessment.
Environmental Drilling Across the GTA
View all service areas →Harrowgate Group provides environmental drilling, delivered and installed with quote-ready support across Toronto and surrounding Ontario communities.
