Scientific Investigations Report 2006-5088
U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
Scientific Investigations Report 2006-5088
DOE/ID-22197
An Update of Hydrologic Conditions and Distribution of Selected Constituents
in Water, Snake River Plain Aquifer, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho, Emphasis
1999–2001
Prepared in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy
By Linda C. Davis
Table of Contents
Conversion Factors, Datums, Abbreviations,
Acronyms, and Symbols
Abstract
Introduction
Hydrologic Conditions
Guidelines for Interpreting Results
of Radiochemical Analyses
Guidelines for Interpreting Results
of Chemical Analyses
Selected Radiochemical and Chemical
Constituents and Physical Properties of Water in the Snake River Plain Aquifer,
1999–2001
Summary
Acknowledgments
References Cited
Figures
Figure 1. Location of the Idaho National
Laboratory (INL), surface-water gaging stations, and selected facilities, Idaho.
Figure 2. Location of wells in the
U.S. Geological Survey water-level monitoring network at and near the Idaho
National Laboratory (INL), Idaho, and frequency of water-level measurements,
as of December 2001.
Figure 3. Location of wells in the
U.S. Geological Survey water-level monitoring network at the Reactor Technology
Complex (RTC), Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center (INTEC), and
Radioactive Waste Management Complex (RWMC), at the Idaho National Laboratory
(INL), Idaho, and frequency of water-level measurements, as of December 2001.
Figure 4. Location of wells in the
U.S. Geological Survey water-quality monitoring network at the Idaho National
Laboratory (INL) and vicinity, Idaho, and frequency of water-sample collections,
as of December 2001.
Figure 5. Location of wells in the
U.S. Geological Survey water-quality monitoring network at the Reactor Technology
Complex (RTC), Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center (INTEC), and
Radioactive Waste Management Complex (RWMC) at the Idaho National Laboratory
(INL) and vicinity, Idaho, and frequency of water-sample collections, as of
December 2001.
Figure 6. Amount of tritium discharged,
tritium as a percentage of total radioactive constituents in wastewater discharged,
and volume of wastewater discharged to the radioactive-waste infiltration and
evaporation ponds at the Reactor Technology Complex (RTC), Idaho, 1962–2001.
Figure 7. Amount of tritium discharged,
tritium as a percentage of total radioactive constituents in wastewater discharged,
and volume of wastewater discharged to the disposal well and infiltration ponds
at the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center (INTEC), Idaho, 1962–2001.
Figure 8. Discharge at gaging stations
along the Big Lost River: Big Lost River below Mackay Reservoir, water years
1904–06, 1912–14, and 1919–2001; Big Lost River below the Idaho National Laboratory
(INL) diversion near Arco, and the INL diversion at head near Arco, Idaho, water
years 1965–2001.
Figure 9. Altitude of the water table
in the Snake River Plain aquifer in the vicinity of the Idaho National Laboratory
(INL), Idaho, March–May 2001.
Figure 10. Generalized rise or decline
in ground-water levels in the Snake River Plain aquifer in the vicinity of the
Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho, March–May 1998 to March–May 2001.
Figure 11. Water levels in four wells
in the central part of the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho, 1950–2001.
Figure 12. Distribution of tritium
in water from wells at and near the Reactor Technology Complex (RTC), Idaho
Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center (INTEC), Central Facilities Area (CFA),
and Radioactive Waste Management Complex (RWMC) at the Idaho National Laboratory
(INL), Idaho, October 2001.
Figure 13. Distribution of strontium-90
in water from wells at and near the Reactor Technology Complex (RTC), Idaho
Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center (INTEC), Central Facilities Area (CFA),
and Radioactive Waste Management Complex (RWMC) at the Idaho National Laboratory
(INL), Idaho, October 2001.
Figure 14. Distribution of chloride
in water from wells at and near the Reactor Technology Complex (RTC), Idaho
Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center (INTEC), Central Facilities Area (CFA),
and Radioactive Waste Management Complex (RWMC) at the Idaho National Laboratory
(INL), Idaho, October 2001.
Figure 15. Amount of chloride in wastewater
discharged to the disposal well and infiltration ponds at the Idaho Nuclear
Technology and Engineering Center (INTEC), and the location and amount of chloride
in water from wells USGS 37 and USGS 57, Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho, 1971–2001.
Figure 16. Distribution of nitrate
in water from wells at and near the Reactor Technology Complex (RTC), Idaho
Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center (INTEC), Central Facilities Area (CFA),
and Radioactive Waste Management Complex (RWMC) at the Idaho National Laboratory
(INL), Idaho, October 2001.
Figure 17. Carbon tetrachloride concentrations
in water from the Radioactive Waste Management Complex (RWMC) production well,
Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho, 1987–2001.
Figure 18. Distribution of specific
conductance of water from wells at and near the Reactor Technology Complex (RTC),
Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center (INTEC), Central Facilities
Area (CFA), and Radioactive Waste Management Complex (RWMC) at the Idaho National
Laboratory (INL), Idaho, October 2001.
Tables
Table 1. Location and construction of
wells in the U.S. Geological Survey water-quality monitoring network and sample-collection
method and frequency, Snake River Plain aquifer, Idaho National Laboratory,
Idaho, as of December 2001.
Table 2. Average annual streamflow at
gaging stations along the Big Lost River, Idaho, water years 1999–2001.
Table 3. Tritium concentrations in water
from selected wells at and near the Central Facilities Area and the Idaho Nuclear
Technology and Engineering Center, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho, 1980–2001.
Table 4. Strontium-90 concentrations
in water from selected wells at and near the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering
Center, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho, 1980–2001.
Table 5. Sodium concentrations in water
from selected wells at and near the Central Facilities Area and the Idaho Nuclear
Technology and Engineering Center, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho, 1981–2001.
Table 6. Chloride concentrations in
water from selected wells at and near the Central Facilities Area and the Idaho
Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center, Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho,
1980–2001.
This report is available online in Portable Document Format (PDF). If you do
not have the Adobe
Acrobat PDF Reader, it is available for free download from Adobe Systems
Incorporated.
Document Accessibility: Adobe Systems Incorporated has information about PDFs
and the visually impaired. This information provides tools to help make PDF
files accessible. These tools convert Adobe PDF documents into HTML or ASCII
text, which then can be read by a number of common screen-reading programs that
synthesize text as audible speech. In addition, an accessible version of Acrobat
Reader 7.0 for Windows (English only), which contains support for screen readers,
is available. These tools and the accessible reader may be obtained free from
Adobe at Adobe
Access.
Send questions or comments about this report to the author, Linda C. Davis, (208) 282-4702.
For more information about USGS activities in Idaho, visit the USGS
Idaho Water Science Center home page.