Lafayette College's Civil and Environmental Engineering Program is currently developing a low cost, reliable, point-of-entry technology to remove arsenic from groundwater sources of drinking water. The technology is a composite sorbent composed of iron hydroxide and activated alumina iron; it has been named, "iron-enhanced activated alumina" (IEAA). The IEAA has proven to successfully remove arsenic to levels below the maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 10 parts per billion (ppb) recently established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). The research presented in this paper focuses on a better understanding the surface characteristics of the IEAA involved in the removal of arsenic. Includes table, figures.