Geotechnical Report Checklist Template
This comprehensive geotechnical report checklist ensures that all critical components and data requirements for a thorough site investigation report are properly documented and verified. By systematically reviewing each section, teams can enhance report quality, maintain regulatory compliance, and minimize the need for repeat site visits. Items are evaluated using a Done, In Progress, or Not Applicable status, with optional notes for additional context. The template is fully customizable to accommodate project-specific geotechnical reporting standards.
Use this template with flowdit
- Customize this template or build your own
- Complete inspections using the mobile app
- Get reports and analyze your data
Start inspecting smarter — free for one user.
How to Use This Checklist
- Complete the introductory fields: conducted on date, prepared by, and location, then read the checklist instructions.
- Work through the sections in order: professional registration and certification, cover sheet and data summary, site background, site plan documentation, hydrogeological characterization, and analytical data presentation.
- Review the three conceptual models covering groundwater contamination, soil contamination, and indoor vapor intrusion.
- Assess remedial alternatives and recommendations, then verify the technical appendices.
- Mark each item as Done, In Progress, or Not Applicable, and record any additional context in the notes field.
- Close out with the overall assessment, additional comments and action items, the total number of deficiencies identified, and the signature and completion times.
Start inspecting smarter — free for one user.
What a geotechnical report review involves
A geotechnical report review is the process of confirming that a site investigation report is complete, internally consistent, and adequately supported by field and analytical data. It is not a re-investigation; it is a structured read of the report against a defined set of expectations. You verify that the professional registration and certification is in place, that the cover sheet and data summary contain all required project identification and contact information, and that the site background, ownership, operational history, and current land use are documented. You also confirm that known and potential contamination sources, discharge and release events, and the governmental and regulatory records reviewed are summarised, and that historical map and aerial photograph findings have been interpreted rather than simply listed. The checklist references a professional geologist or engineer seal and a data summary for technical reports, and it treats these as the starting point for the rest of the review.
Documenting the site plan and hydrogeology
The site plan and hydrogeological sections carry much of the technical weight. A complete site plan shows the title block, legend, and true north arrow, is drawn to an appropriate engineering scale with a graphic scale bar, identifies the source and creator of the plan, and documents a permanent recoverable benchmark with its location, elevation, and datum. Surface topography should be depicted through spot elevations, contours, or noted changes in slope, and the site property boundaries must be fully delineated, with public and environmental receptors identified and located. On the hydrogeological side, the report needs a detailed description of stratigraphy, lithology, hydrology, and contaminant flow characteristics, supported by geologic cross-sections with accurate subsurface interpretations and a potentiometric surface map showing groundwater flow direction. This is the evidence base on which the conceptual models and remedial recommendations rest, so gaps here tend to surface later as unsupported conclusions.
Building the conceptual site models
The checklist organises the conceptual modelling work into three parts: groundwater contamination, soil contamination, and indoor vapor intrusion. For groundwater, you confirm that dissolved-phase plume transport mechanisms, migration pathways, and degradation processes are described; that known or suspected contaminant sources in groundwater are identified, including soil contamination, free product, waste storage areas, aboveground and underground storage tank systems, and unreported discharges; that contaminant concentration contours are shown on the site plan and cross-sections; that outliers and contaminants with no identified source are discussed with supporting data; and that the total mass of contaminated groundwater exceeding applicable cleanup standards is estimated. Potential receptors within 1,000 feet, including a comprehensive list of water supply wells, must be identified and located. For soil, the same logic applies: contaminant concentration contours shown laterally and vertically, and an estimate of the mass and volume of contaminated soil exceeding cleanup standards, unless no source area is present. For indoor vapor intrusion, the report should identify and explain potential pathways, report any exceedances, soil vapor monitoring results, indoor air screening results such as PID or FID readings, and recommend any further assessment. Where the pathway is complete and confirmed, indoor air monitoring results should be compared with applicable standards alongside proposed abatement measures.
Remedial alternatives and technical appendices
Once the conceptual models are in place, the checklist turns to what should happen next. It asks whether closure is recommended and, if so, for a detailed description of how current site conditions satisfy applicable closure requirements. Where more work is needed, it asks for recommendations covering additional investigations and initial response actions, including steps to finalise the groundwater management zone boundary and delineate source areas, with proposed explorations and sampling locations shown on the site plan. A preliminary screening of remedial alternatives should be provided, describing the recommended remedial action and the steps needed to implement it, along with any interim response actions or presumptive remedies and a preliminary groundwater management zone boundary on the site plan. The appendices then carry the supporting evidence: colour photographs of key site features, a description of field procedures for well installation and sampling including sample preservation methods, field screening data, boring logs with PID results and monitoring well construction details, the analytical data package with chain of custody documentation and holding time verification, detailed engineering and hydrogeological calculations, and, where applicable, a water well board completion report prepared by a licensed technical driller.
Why it matters
A report that misses a benchmark, an incomplete cross-section, or an unquantified mass estimate is difficult for a reviewer to accept and may require a return visit to the site to collect what was missed. Working through this checklist before the report is issued helps you catch those gaps while the field team and the data are still close at hand. It also gives the reviewing authority a clear picture of what was assessed, what was found, and what is being recommended, which supports regulatory compliance and makes the case for closure or further action more defensible.
Using the checklist as a review tool
The checklist is a working document, not a formality. Assign each item a status of Done, In Progress, or Not Applicable, and use the notes field to record context, disagreements, or follow-up needs. Where an item does not apply, say so explicitly rather than leaving it blank, so the record shows it was considered. At the end, complete the overall report completeness assessment, capture additional comments and action items, and record the total number of deficiencies identified before signing off. Because the template is fully customisable, you can align the items with project-specific geotechnical reporting standards and the expectations of the specific reviewing programme.
Frequently Asked Questions
Still managing operations with paper and Excel?
Digitize inspections, audits, SOPs, and corrective actions.
Book A Personal Demo
Resources Under The Same Category
GAP Audit Part 4 - Storage and Transportation Checklist
Utilize this comprehensive storage and transportation inspection tool to identif...
View template →
Site Investigation Report Template
A comprehensive site investigation report template designed for qualified enviro...
View template →
Ladder Inspection Checklist (HSE)
This checklist supports compliance with the Work at Height Regulations 2005 (WAH...
View template →
Environmental Site Audit Checklist
This comprehensive environmental site audit checklist empowers construction team...
View template →
LEED IEQ Inspection Checklist – Tower Construction
Structured Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) assessment framework designed to v...
View template →
OpenView Equipment Return Form
This equipment return form helps organizations recover and document company asse...
View template →Ready to simplify inspections and get your team moving faster?
Start free today and turn inspections into a clear, consistent digital workflow. Prefer a guided walkthrough? Book a demo and see how flowdit can fit your team.