Progress Toward the Development of a Ground-Water Velocity Model for the Radioactive Waste Management Facility, Savannah River Plant, South Carolina: Quarterly Report

摘要

This report presents the status and results of work performed to develop a numerical groundwater velocity model for the radioactive waste management facility at the Savannah River Plant (SRP). Work dealt with developing a hydrologic budget for the McQueen Branch drainage basin. Two hydrologic budgets were developed, covering two periods of time. The first period was from November 1, 1982 to May 19, 1984; the second period was from March 1, 1983 to March 31, 1984. Total precipitation for this period was 52.48 inches, all as rainfall. Water levels measured in wells in the basin quarterly, monthly, and continuously showed basically the same response over the period of the study. Maximum fluctuation of water levels of wells in the basin was five to seven feet during the study. Stream discharge measurements in McQueen Branch showed base flow varying between 1.5 and 5.7 cfs. Lowest base flow occurred during the summer, when evapotranspiration was greatest. Some impact of daily ground-water evapotranspiration from the Branch floodplain was seen in continuous stream records. These daily effects peaked in magnitude during the summer, disappeared during winter, and gradually returned during spring. Underflow past the Branch gauging station out of the basin was determined to be negligible. Leakage downward through the Green Clay is difficult to determine but is believed to be small, based on the overall results of the budget study.