Hydrogeology along the southern boundary of the Hanford Site between the Yakima and Columbia Rivers, Washington

Abstract

This report was .prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of t h e United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, make any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for t h e accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by t h e United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof.. . DISCLAIMER Portions of this document may be illegible in electronic image products. Images are produced from the best available original document. Preface This report was originally published in May 1993 as a thesis for the degree of Master of Science with a major in hydrology through the University of Idaho. Research for the report was conducted between June 1989 and May 1990. The report contains valuable Wrmation on the hydrogeology along the southern boundary of the Hanfbrd Site; therefbre, the GroundWater Surveillance Project agreed to publish it as a Pacific Northwest Laboratory technical report. Because the report was published in 1993, references are made to activities, organizations, and/or previous investigations that were pertinent at the time, but may no longer be applicable, or have since been updated. Hence, the report remains essentially as it was originally written.

Upper Basalt-Confined Aquifer System in the Southern Hanford Site

“…Figure 6 shows that an upward hydraulic gradient exists in the southern part of the Hanford Site. Increasing hydraulic heads with depth, indicating an upward hydraulic gradient, were also noted when well ORV-1 was drilled (Liikala 1994). The upward gradient makes it unlikely that any contaminants in the unconfined aquifer would migrate downward into the basalt-confined aquifer.…”

“…Geologic information for offsite wells was adapted from Liikala (1994). More information on the geologic framework of the overall basalt-confined aquifer system is available in DOE (1988), Spane and Vermeul (1994), and Spane and Webber (1995).…”

Hanford Site National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Characterization Report, Revision 17

“…The groundwater in this area is influenced by artificial recharge associated with the North Richland recharge basins and nearby irrigated farming (Liikala 1994). Water is pumped from the Columbia River to the recharge basins and subsequently pumped from nearby wells.…”

Uncertainty Analysis Framework - Hanford Site-Wide Groundwater Flow and Transport Model

“…Results of the 1999 measurements are presented in . Additional water-level data for the North Richland area are provided in Liikala (1994). The annual water-level measurements provide an extensive database that can be used to define initial head conditions for numerical modeling and for a comparison of modeling runs with historical data.…”

“…Energy Northwest (formerly Washington Public Power Supply System), agricultural and lawn irrigation, and ground disposal of wastewater at a potato-processing plant are other sources of artificial recharge that may affect groundwater flow in the north Richland area and in the southern part of the Hanford Site (Liikala 1994). To estimate recharge from agricultural irrigation, the information needed includes the areal coverage of the irrigated land, the history of the farming practices, and the assumed or calculated deep drainage rate of the soil.…”