LeRoy L. Knobel - United States Geological Survey
Water resources data for the 2005 water year for Idaho consists of records of stage, discharge, and water quality of streams; stage, contents, and water quality of lakes and reservoirs; discharge of irrigation diversions; and water levels and water quality of groundwater. The two volumes of this report contain discharge records for 204 stream-gaging stations and 9 irrigation diversions; stage only records for 5 stream-gaging stations; stage only for 6 lakes and reservoirs; contents only for 13 lakes and reservoirs; water-quality for 26 stream-gaging stations and partial record sites, 19 lakes sites, and 450 groundwater wells; and water levels for 465 observation network wells. Additional water data were collected at various sites not involved in the systematic data collection program and are published as miscellaneous measurements.
Water resources data for the 2005 water year for Idaho consists of records of stage, discharge, and water quality of streams; stage, contents, and water quality of lakes and reservoirs; discharge of irrigation diversions; and water levels and water quality of groundwater. The two volumes of this report contain discharge records for 204 stream-gaging stations and 9 irrigation diversions; stage only records for 5 stream-gaging stations; stage only for 6 lakes and reservoirs; contents only for 13 lakes and reservoirs; water-quality for 26 stream-gaging stations and partial record sites, 19 lakes sites, and 450 groundwater wells; and water levels for 465 observation network wells. Additional water data were collected at various sites not involved in the systematic data collection program and are published as miscellaneous measurements.
The eastern Snake River Plain (ESRP) volcanic province has been dominated by basaltic volcanism for at least 3.2 Ma. Basalt core from three boreholes , USGS 127, 128, and 129, drilled at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) are used to document the subsurface chemostratigraphy of ESRP basalts and to understand the origin of their chemical variability. The stratigraphy of these coreholes was defined by detailed geochemical analysis of individual lava flows combined with paleomagnetic inclination data. Lava flows with similar chemistry and paleomagnetic inclination were identified and correlated between the three cores to refine the subsurface stratigraphy in this region.
One lava flow group from these cores, known as the “high K” flow group, is distinguished from typical olivine tholeiites on the ESRP by unusually high concentrations of incompatible elements and unusually low Sr isotopic ratios. The major element, trace element, and isotopic characteristics of this flow group were studied in detail in order to explain its petrogenetic history. Mass-balance modeling indicates that fractionation of plagioclase, olivine, magnetite, and apitite from a plausible olivine tholeiite parent magma could produce the high K flow group lavas. However, thermodynamic modeling of fractionation of the parent magma under higher redox conditions could not reproduce the required mineral assembledge. Another mechanism for the removal of magnetite and apitite in addition to olivine and plagioclase from the high K flow group parent magma is required. The high K flow group may be part of a chemically continuous series of lavas that includes the underlying lava flow group, designated here as flow group 4.
This report is a summary of the historical development, from 1949 to 2001, of the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) hydrologic monitoring and investigative programs at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory. The report covers the USGS’s water-level monitoring program, water-quality sampling program, geophysical program, geologic framework program, drilling program, modeling program, surface-water program, and unsaturated-zone program. The report provides physical information about the wells, and information about the frequencies of sampling and measurement. Summaries of USGS published reports with U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) report numbers also are provided in an appendix. This report was prepared by the USGS in cooperation with the DOE.
This study examines the origin of basalt alteration that correlates with the
sharp, but irregular boundary between active and deeper, much less conductive
portions of the eastern Snake River Plain (ESRP) aquifer system. I specifically
investigate three hypotheses for the origin of the boundary: (1) that basalt
alteration took place in-situ, post-emplacement, while the basalt was
within the ESRP aquifer system under ambient aquifer temperature and aqueous
geochemical conditions, (2) that basalt alteration took place in-situ,
post-emplacement, while the basalt was within the ESRP aquifer system under
elevated temperature and different aqueous geochemical conditions, and (3) that
basalt altered syn-emplacement, during the peperitization process.
A majority of altered basaltic units in borehole Middle 1823 also exhibit
prominent syn-emplacement, peperitic intermingling between the molten basalt and
wet sediment. Peperitization of basalts is distinguished from subaerially or
palagonitized basalt by zones of intermingled basalt and sediment displaying
amoeboid-shaped basalt clasts with fluidal, oxidized margins intermingling with
sediment at glass-rich contact regions between basalt and sediment, as well as
clastic dikes of sediment and sediment amygdules within basalt flows. Thus some
alteration occurred during the peperitization of the basalt, which was later
overprinted by in-situ alteration.
Fluid inclusion microthermometry indicates that in-situ alteration-associated
calcite precipitated at temperatures 7-20 oC higher than the present
day temperatures. This is substantially higher than expected ambient variability
within the aquifer and supports hypothesis # 2. Transient inputs of warm,
reactive hydrothermal groundwater from depth (McLing et al., 1997; McLing et
al., 2002; Morse and McCurry, 2002; Morse, 2002) with local variations in
extent, magnitude, and flux, best explain the 3 dimensional variations in the
morphology of the contact between the active portion and the base of the ESRP
aquifer.
The U.S. Geological Survey and the Idaho Department of Water Resources, in
cooperation with the U.S. Department of Energy, sampled water from 14 sites as
part of an ongoing study to monitor the water quality of the eastern Snake River
Plain aquifer between the southern boundary of the Idaho National Laboratory (INL)
and the Burley-Twin Falls-Hagerman area. The State of Idaho, Department of
Environmental Quality, Division of INL Oversight and Radiation Control cosampled
with the U.S. Geological Survey and the Idaho Department of Water Resources and
their analytical results are included in this report. The samples were collected
from four domestic wells, two dairy wells, two springs, four irrigation wells,
one observation well, and one stock well and analyzed for selected radiochemical
and chemical constituents. Two quality-assurance samples, sequential replicates,
also were collected and analyzed.
None of the concentrations of radiochemical or organic-chemical constituents
exceeded the maximum contaminant levels for drinking water established by the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. However, the concentration of one
inorganic-chemical constituent, nitrate (as nitrogen), in water from site MV-43
was 20 milligrams per liter which exceeded the maximum contaminant level for
that constituent. Of the radiochemical and chemical concentrations analyzed for
in the replicate-sample pairs, 267 of the 270 pairs (with 95 percent confidence)
were statistically equivalent.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) requested that the U.S. Geological Survey
conduct an independent technical review of the Interim Risk Assessment (IRA) and
Contaminant Screening for the Waste Area Group 7 (WAG-7) Remedial Investigation,
the draft Addendum to the Work Plan for Operable Unit 7-13/14 WAG-7
comprehensive Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (RI/FS), and
supporting documents that were prepared by Lockheed Martin Idaho Technologies,
Inc.
The purpose of the technical review was to assess the data and geotechnical
approaches that were used to estimate future risks associated with the release
of the actinides americium, uranium, neptunium, and plutonium to the Snake River
Plain aquifer from wastes buried in pits and trenches at the Subsurface Disposal
Area (SDA). The SDA is located at the Radioactive Waste Management Complex in
southeastern Idaho within the boundaries of the Idaho National Engineering and
Environmental Laboratory. Radionuclides have been buried in pits and trenches at
the SDA since 1957 and 1952, respectively. Burial of transuranic wastes was
discontinued in 1982.
The five specific tasks associated with this review were defined in a “Proposed
Scope of Work” prepared by the DOE, and a follow-up workshop held in June 1988.
The specific tasks were (1) to review the radionuclide sampling data to
determine how reliable and significant are the reported radionuclide detections
and how reliable is the ongoing sampling program, (2) to assess the physical and
chemical processes that logically can be invoked to explain true detections, (3)
to determine if distribution coefficients that were used in the IRA are reliable
and if they have been applied properly, (4) to determine if the transport model
predictions are technically sound, and (5) to identify issues needing resolution
to determine technical adequacy of the risk assessment analysis, and what
additional work is required to resolve those issues.
Because characterizing the unsaturated hydraulic properties of sediments over
large areas or depths is costly and time consuming, development of models that
predict these properties from more easily measured bulk-physical properties is
desirable. At the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, the
unsaturated zone is composed of thick basalt flow sequences interbedded with
thinner sedimentary layers. Determining the unsaturated hydraulic properties of
sedimentary layers is one step in understanding water flow and solute transport
processes through this complex unsaturated system. Multiple linear regression
was used to construct simple property-transfer models for estimating the
water-retention curve and saturated hydraulic conductivity of deep sediments at
the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory. The regression
models were developed from 109 core sample subsets with laboratory measurements
of hydraulic and bulk-physical properties. The core samples were collected at
depths of 9 to 175 meters at two facilities within the southwestern portion of
the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory¿the Radioactive
Waste Management Complex, and the Vadose Zone Research Park southwest of the
Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center. Four regression models were
developed using bulk-physical property measurements (bulk density, particle
density, and particle size) as the potential explanatory variables. Three
representations of the particle-size distribution were compared: (1)
textural-class percentages (gravel, sand, silt, and clay), (2) geometric
statistics (mean and standard deviation), and (3) graphical statistics (median
and uniformity coefficient). The four response variables, estimated from linear
combinations of the bulk-physical properties, included saturated hydraulic
conductivity and three parameters that define the water-retention curve.
For each core sample,values of each water-retention parameter were estimated
from the appropriate regression equation and used to calculate an estimated
water-retention curve. The degree to which the estimated curve approximated the
measured curve was quantified using a goodness-of-fit indicator, the
root-mean-square error. Comparison of the root-mean-square-error distributions
for each alternative particle-size model showed that the estimated
water-retention curves were insensitive to the way the particle-size
distribution was represented. Bulk density, the median particle diameter, and
the uniformity coefficient were chosen as input parameters for the final models.
The property-transfer models developed in this study allow easy determination of
hydraulic properties without need for their direct measurement. Additionally,
the models provide the basis for development of theoretical models that rely on
physical relationships between the pore-size distribution and the bulk-physical
properties of the media. With this adaptation, the property-transfer models
should have greater application throughout the Idaho National Engineering and
Environmental Laboratory and other geographic locations.
Brennan, T.S., Lehmann, A.K., and O’Dell, I., 2005, Water Resources Data, Idaho, 2005: Volume 1. Surface Water Records: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Data Report ID-05-1, 469 p.
Campbell, A.M., Conti, S.N., and O’Dell, I., 2005, Water Resources Data, Idaho, 2005: Volume 2. Ground Water Records: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Data Report ID-05-2, 354 p.
Chadwick, C.G., 2005, Petrogenesis of an evolved olivine tholeiite and chemical stratigraphy of cores USGS 127, 128, and 129, Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory: Idaho State University, Department of Geosciences Master of Science Thesis, 133 p.
Knobel, L.L., Bartholomay, R.C., and Rousseau, J.P., 2005, Historical development of the U.S. Geological Survey hydrologic monitoring and investigative programs at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, Idaho, 1949 to 2001: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2005-1223 (DOE/ID-22195), 93 p.
Mazurek, John, 2005, Genetic controls on basalt alteration within the eastern Snake River Plain aquifer system, Idaho: Idaho State University, Department of Geosciences Master of Science Thesis, 212 p.
Rattray, G.W., Wehnke, A.J., Hall, L.F., and Campbel, L.J., 2005, Radiochemical and Chemical Constituents in Water from Selected Wells and Springs from the Southern Boundary of the Idaho National Laboratory to the Hagerman Area, Idaho, 2003: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2005-1125 (DOE/ID-22193), 25 p.
Rousseau, J.P., Landa, E.R., Nimmo, J.R., Cecil, L.D., Knobel, L.L., Glynn, P.D., Kwicklis, E.M, Curtis, G.P., Stollenwerk, K.G., Anderson, S.R., Bartholomay, R.C., Bossong, C.R., and Orr, B.R., 2005, Review of the transport of selected radionuclides in the Interim Risk Assessment for the Radioactive Waste Management Complex, Waste Area Group 7 Operable Unit 7-13/14, Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, Idaho: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2005-5026 (DOE/ID-22192), Volume I, Volume II, Appendix, [variously paged].
Winfield, K.A., 2005, Development of Property-Transfer
Models for Estimating the Hydraulic Properties of Deep Sediments at the Idaho
National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory, Idaho: U.S. Geological Survey
Scientific Investigations Report 2005-5114 (DOE/ID-22196), 49 p.