Hanford site water table changes 1950-1980: data observations and evaluation

The basalt formations underlying the Hanford site are being considered for characterization and evaluation as a deep geologic repository for defense and commercial radioactive wastes. To understand the hydrology of the Hanford area, we need to know if the ground-water system is in steady state and what impact a change in surface stress from artificial recharge may have on the underlying basalt aquifers. Researchers at Pacific Northwest Laboratory are supporting efforts to understand these issues by illustrating how changes in wastewater disposal activities at the Hanford site have altered the configuration of the water table surface with time. The objective of this work was to determine the magnitude and direction of changes in the elevation of the water table across the Hanford site from 1950 to 1980. Plots of the magnitudes of water-level changes occurring over 5-year intervals from 1950 through 1980 are presented. The water-level changes that occurred during each 5-year interval are related to water discharges from nuclear fuel reprocessing facilities or other discharge sources. The plots of water-level changes show large water-level increases in the vicinity of the Separations Area (200 East and 200 West) from 1950 to 1960; the rate of increase of water-level changes grows more slowly from 1960 to 1970, while the areal extent of the mounding continues to expand. Only small changes occur from 1970 to 1980; during this time period, the unconfined system appears to be in approximate equilibrium with the sources. Based on previous experience, it is believed that an increase in ground-water mounding will begin to appear near the 200 East Area B Pond as a result of the increased discharges from the restart of PUREX in 1983